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Gas Siphoner Stabs Man in the Neck With a Pen

joseph-beltran.jpg
Joseph Beltran (Photo courtesy LASD)
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A college student caught siphoning gas in Santa Clarita attacked the man who interrupted him by stabbing him in the neck with a pen.22-year-old Joseph Carlos Beltran of Castaic was spotted siphoning gas from a vehicle on September 5 by a man who opted to confront the suspected thief, according to City News Service. That man asked Beltran if the vehicle from which he was removing gas was his. In response, Beltran allegedly asked why the man needed to know, then stabbed the man in the neck with a pen.

Beltran fled the scene, and the victim was not seriously hurt.

Authorities in Santa Clarita say Beltran attends College of the Canyons, and spends time in the Canyon Country area. They believe he drives a white 1987 Mercedes Benz.

Beltran is Hispanic, 5 feet 5 inches tall, 140-160 pounds, and has black hair, according to a bulletin issued by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Santa Clarita Valley Station.

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Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Beltran is asked to contact the LASD, and urged to not confront the suspect.

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