The thief did not know he had walked into an elaborate trap to catch him in the act.
"He hit another station," said store manager Hussam Hasouneh. "He came to the same location three times."
Surveillance photos from August and October show a strikingly similar-looking suspect breaking into a car wash bill collector at a Mobil station in San Bernardino.
In fact, owner Ahmed Radwan believes he is the same thief that burglarized all six of his gas station's car washes in the past six months.
"It's a battle between him and I," said station owner Ahmed Radwan. "He wants the money and I want the money, but it's my money."
Radwan knew it was only a matter of time before the thief would hit his Shell station. He decided to set up a trap installing cameras at one of his car wash bill collectors. When the thief tried to break-in again, he looked straight into a camera.
Radwan also set up an alarm to alert the store manager.
"I tried to run behind to get the license plate or his face or description or something like that but he was too fast," said Hasouneh.
The camera, however, did get clear shots of the suspect's face and arm tattoo along with photos of the suspect's black Chevy Tahoe and Texas license plate.
Radwan's Shell station is equipped with state-of-the-art security cameras capturing customers' and employees' every move.
"It's worth every penny of it," said Radwan. "I would not hesitate to add more. I have approximately 70 cameras."
Radwan is hoping his investment will pay off. He's offering a $200 gas reward car for information leading to the thief's arrest and conviction.
Anyone with information on any of the six burglaries throughout San Bernardino County is urged to contact the Colton Police Department at (909) 825-2211.
