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Oct 09, 2023

Catalytic converter thefts tied to metal prices nationwide

Thieves have long targeted car stereos, air bags, halogen headlights, even

Thieves have long targeted car stereos, air bags, halogen headlights, even pocket change from the ashtrays. But now they are crawling under vehicles and cutting away the catalytic converters for the precious metals inside.

CECIL COUNTY — Only smidgens of a catalytic converter are comprised of platinum, palladium and rhodium.

They are the precious metals in catalytic converters that entice thieves in Cecil County and throughout the United States to stealthily extract that part from the exhaust systems of cars and trucks parked in public lots, private driveways — even dealerships — with reciprocating saws and similar tools and then take them to salvage shops for their payoffs.

In general, a standard catalytic converter is comprised of three to seven grams of platinum, two to seven grams of palladium and one to two grams of rhodium.

That doesn't sound like much but, in terms of monetary value, even a small amount of any of those precious metals holds high value. In 2022, platinum was valued at approximately $32 per ounce; palladium at about $53 per ounce and rhodium — by far the most expensive — at slightly more than $390 an ounce. There are 28 grams in an ounce, so platinum, palladium and rhodium in that amount would be valued at $896, $1,484 and $10,920 respectively.

Scrap metal businesses pay only a fraction of those sums per ounce, however, to customers who redeem catalytic converters, before the salvage yard business owners sell those precious metals contained in them at a higher price to the next buyer up the food chain.

The prices of platinum, palladium and rhodium fluctuate and, according to Lt. Michael Holmes, a Cecil County Sheriff's Office spokesman, law enforcement officials are more likely to see an increase in catalytic converter thefts when the cost of all or some of those precious metals rises.

But there are other factors that have an impact on the number of catalytic converter thefts, including the scenario in which one thief acting alone or perhaps two or three committing the offenses as a crime ring before they are caught by police and taken off the streets, he noted.

BY THE NUMBERS

Last year, 169 catalytic converter thefts were reported in Cecil County, according to Holmes, who explained that those 2022 crime statistics for that particular type of incident reflect cases handled by all law enforcement agencies in the county. The data for all crime statistics in Cecil County is compiled and broken down into numerous categories by CCSO's crime analyst.

There were 125 catalytic converter thefts reported in Cecil County in 2021 — 44 fewer than last year's total, Holmes reported.

An upward trend that started in late 2021 and ran through the first quarter of 2022 is noticed when examining the monthly numbers for catalytic thefts in Cecil County.

Specifically, 12 catalytic converter thefts were reported in this county in November 2021 and that number climbed to 20 in December 2021.

Then, in January 2022, according to those crime figures, 33 catalytic converter thefts were reported here, followed by 30 in February 2022 — before a noticeable downward trend started in March 2022, when 19 catalytic converter thefts were brought to the attention of law enforcement agencies in Cecil County.

"The numbers have decreased pretty dramatically," Holmes said.

It's possible that a reason — or at least a partial explanation — for the drop in numbers that started in March and continued throughout the rest of 2022 relates to the arrest of one culprit.

On Jan. 27, 2022, CCSO investigators arrested a man and filed criminal charges against him relating to the stripping of catalytic converters from several vehicles in three school parking lots in Cecil County during a three-week-long theft spree, according to the police and court records.

Between Jan. 5, 2022 and Jan. 27, 2022, CCSO investigators received five theft complaints regarding the removal of catalytic converters from vehicles parked at Rising Sun High School, the Cecil County School of Technology and Cecil College, reported Holmes, noting at the time, "The suspect removed the catalytic converters from student and staff vehicles."

Through surveillance video and "other investigative measures," members of CCSO's Street Level Crimes Unit determined that the suspect drove a black Mazda passenger car with a spoiler and with a Delaware license plate, police reported.

"The driver would travel to a well-occupied parking lot during daytime school hours and then remove catalytic converters from motor vehicles (by) using a small electrical cutting instrument," Holmes said.

It is likely that the suspect targeted vehicles in those high school and college parking lots because he assumed the owners — students and teachers — were preoccupied in the education buildings.

In late January 2022, some four days after investigators had received their last theft complaint relating to catalytic converters, a CCSO deputy spotted a Mazda matching the description of the suspect vehicle in the 900 block of West Pulaski Highway (Route 40) near Elkton and stopped it, police said.

A computer check revealed that the operator — Jesse Lee Dungan, 33, of Conowingo — had a suspended driver's license and that the Mazda had an unauthorized license plate, police added.

During a court-approved search of the Mazda, after it had been towed to an impound lot at CCSO headquarters, investigators found and confiscated two Ryobi reciprocating saws and 72 saw blades, according to Holmes, who further reported that detectives seized "multiple hypodermic syringes and small clear plastic baggies containing suspected heroin."

Dungan, who remained jailed until April 3, when he posted a $7,500 to gain his pre-trial freedom after about five weeks of incarceration, pleaded guilty to theft scheme to steal property valued at more than $1,500 and less than $25,000 as part of a plea deal during a Sept. 15 hearing, according to Cecil County Circuit Court records.

But his sentencing was deferred because the judge ordered Dungan to successfully complete Cecil County Adult Drug Court, an intense program that, marked by frequent close monitoring by court officials, can take as long as two years to finish, court records show.

Court records further indicate that Dungan failed to appear for an Oct. 20 restitution hearing relating to the catalytic-converter-theft case and, in turn, Cecil County Circuit Court Judge William W. Davis Jr. issued a bench warrant calling for his arrest. As of Thursday, according to those court records, Dungan remained on the lam.

"Once he got caught, it slowed down around here," Holmes told the Cecil Whig recently, referring to the arrest of Dungan and the decline in catalytic converter thefts in Cecil County after his apprehension. "The peak for catalytic converter thefts here was November 2021 through March 2022."

Holmes then emphasized, "Forty-nine percent — just about half — of all the catalytic converter thefts in 2022 happened in the first three months of 2022," before explaining that thieves targeting catalytic converters typically "do a lot more than one theft" and that they don't stop until they are caught.

In other words, the number of catalytic converter thefts can be high while the number of perpetrators can be relatively low.

"We do catch a few people each year," Holmes said, referring to catalytic-converter-theft suspects.

While there are countywide crime statistics for theft in general, however, that data isn't broken down into the type of property stolen, such as catalytic converters, diamond rings, wallets and so forth. (An exception, there is an auto theft category in the crime statistics.)

The breakdown of monthly catalytic converter thefts here in 2022 after March, when 19 were reported, is this: 19 in April; 11 in May; 13 in June; 13 in July; 14 in August; 7 in September; 2 in October; 4 in November; and 4 in December.

Of those 169 catalytic converter thefts during 2022 in Cecil County, 106 occurred in Elkton and its surrounding areas and Elkton Police Department officers handled 37 of those cases, which occurred within town limits, Holmes said. As for the others, 29 occurred in North East; nine in Rising Sun; eight in Port Deposit; seven in Conowingo; four in Perryville; three in Chesapeake City and three in Colora, he added.

Based on the 2022 crime data compiled by the CCSO analyst, thieves harvested catalytic converters from Ford vehicles — 61 of them — more than from cars and trucks made by any other auto manufacturer. The next highest — 23 — falls under the "unknown" category, which is such for a variety of reasons, including lapses in reporting.

That list continues thusly: Catalytic converters stolen from Hondas, 20; from Chevrolets, 18; from Toyotas; 16; from Isuzus, 11 and from Jeeps, 10.

A catalytic converter, which is part of the exhaust system found beneath a vehicle, filters out harmful byproducts in the exhaust gases and burns them up — reducing harmful emissions while also improving the vehicle's efficiency. By law, all vehicles manufactured after 1974 are required to have catalytic converters to reduce pollutants.

ARRESTING AND

DETERRING

Catalytic converter thieves typically are arrested after they are caught in the act of stealing — either by a law enforcement officer or a civilian witness who then contacts police.

They also are caught when the suspect or his vehicle is videotaped by security cameras in the area where catalytic thefts have occurred and then the detectives studies the footage and is able to identify the culprit directly or is able to use information provided by the video, such as a license plate, to make an identification. Such was the case with Dungan.

While law enforcement officers in Cecil County do their best to identify and arrest suspects in catalytic-converter-theft cases, tighter regulations in Maryland regarding the sale of catalytic converters to salvage businesses might remove the allure for those inclined to steal that auto part in the first place.

Legislators in California, for example, recently passed Senate Bill 1087, which limits legal sellers of catalytic converters to people who can prove it came from their own vehicle and also to specified businesses, including licensed auto dismantlers and repair dealers. Fines for breaking the law start at $1,000, and escalate for repeat violations.

In addition, those lawmakers passed Assembly Bill 1653, which adds theft of vehicle parts to the list of crimes the California Highway Patrol's Regional Property Crimes Task Force should prioritize, and Assembly Bill 1740, which requires people or businesses who buy catalytic converters to document the purchase by recording the year, make, model, and VIN number of the car that the converter came from.

Legislative Perspective

With numerous counties tirelessly working to combat catalytic converter theft, Cecil County lawmakers say it boils down to legislation and stricter punishments.

"We need to strengthen the penalties for this," said District 35B-R Representative Kevin Hornberger. "Its treated as theft but they are actually destroying the environment by removing these from vehicles."

In 2022, Senator Clarence Lam 12-D proposed legislation that would make tampering with or stealing a catalytic converter a felony crime that is punishable by up to five years in prison.

The bill was withdrawn Feb. 22, 2022.

Hornberger says that working with Attorney General Anthony Brown would potentially help passing and enforcing legislation that curbs catalytic converter theft.

"These thefts are a problem," said Hornberger. "I think we should talk to the attorney general to see if there is any assistance we can get to help stop this."

Currently, there aren't any bills in the Maryland General Assembly aimed at fighting catalytic converter theft.

Cecil Whig reporter Matt Hubbard contributed to this article.

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