Photos of two vehicles suspected in a series of fuel thefts led police to identify three suspects, officials said today.

Richard William Tennant, 24, (pictured) faces 17 felony charges for thefts in Spokane and Adams counties in which $5,000 in fuel was purchased using gas cards stolen from the Central Valley School District and a Spokane Valley company, according to police.

A suspected gas thief tipped off police by discarding her mail in the station trashcan and leaving her identification card with an employee.

Spokane Valley police tracked Lacey Nicole Trottier, 21, to her apartment in the 1800 block of North Hutchinson Road by checking the discarded mail.

She's suspected of stealing $60 in fuel from the Cenex Station, 15504 E. Fourth Ave., on Monday. When police arrived, the station employee said the same driver left her identification card behind while stealing $75 in fuel on Jan. 29.

Cpl. Darin Staley arrested Trottier on two new charges of second-degree theft, as well as driving with license suspended and possession of methamphetamine for a small quantity of meth found in her purse, according to a news release.

Trottier also was booked on a warrant for a 2009 second-degree theft case in which she's accused of stealing $400 from a cash register at TJ Maxx in the Valley mall, where she was employed.

A man suspected of stealing fuel from a Spokane gas station led police from two cities on a lengthy chase on slushy roads Wednesday before ramming a patrol car, officials said.

Police spotted Jacob S. Beck, 33, driving eastbound on Trent Avenue in a 1988 Mercury Cougar after reports of a driver stealing $54 in fuel from a station at 3030 E. Euclid Ave. about 3:40 p.m. Witnesses said Beck drove his car at a customer who tried to stop him, causing a gash on the man’s hand, which led to a robbery charge.

Beck ran a red light at Fancher and Broadway and turned eastbound at Sprague at speeds of 50 mph in the 35 mph zone, police say, then allegedly rammed a patrol car driven by Spokane Valley police Officer Hal Whapeles, causing minor damage.

Police called off the chase because of heavy traffic and dangerous road conditions but soon found the Cougar abandoned at Appleway Chevrolet near Sprague and Dishman Road after 911 received several reports of the car driving recklessly.

Officers found Beck in a vacant lot near Sprague and Vista and booked him into jail on robbery, assault and eluding police charges.

Beck is on probation in Washington and has a non-extraditable burglary warrant out of California. He was a Crime Stoppers fugitive last summer when he was wanted by the Department of Corrections for escape from community custody.

He has previous convictions for vehicle theft, drug possession, burglary, theft, driving while suspended, forgery, making false statements, unlawful possession of firearms, possession of stolen property and probation violations, according to Crime Stoppers.

Anyone with information about Wednesday's incident is asked to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.