Two suspects arrested for catalytic converter thefts in Goleta, six converters recovered
GOLETA, Calif. – Santa Barbara County Sheriff's deputies early Tuesday morning arrested two suspects for stealing six catalytic converters in Goleta.
Deputies responded to the area of Dearborn Place and Armitos Avenue around 3:40 a.m. on Tuesday for a reported catalytic converter theft that had just occurred. The reporting party was able to provide a suspect car description, and deputies spotted a similar vehicle just under 10 minutes later on southbound Highway 101, according to sheriff's spokeswoman Raquel Zick.
Deputies conducted a traffic stop and discovered six stolen converters in the car along with a car jack and multiple electric saws, Zick said. Deputies arrested both occupants of the car, a 29-year-old man from the Los Angeles area and a 37-year-old man from Culver City.
The two men were booked into the Santa Barbara Main Jail for six felony counts of grand theft, six felony counts of conspiracy, six misdemeanor counts of vehicle tampering, and a misdemeanor count of possession of burglary tools.
The 29-year-old man was also booked on the additional charges of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
They are each being held on an enhanced bail of $500,000, according to Zick.
Residents can take precautions to protect their vehicles from catalytic converter thieves by parking them inside a garage or secured yard, installing motion detector lights near parking areas, installing a catalytic converter protection device, and educating neighbors to be on the lookout for thieves.
"The theft of catalytic converters is popular because they can be easily removed, they do not have identifying marks like serial numbers, and the components are made up of precious metals that can be resold to recyclers," Zick said.
