Catalytic converter theft, a crime that pops up intermittently in Gilmer County, has surprised and inconvenienced several local small businessowners during the past year.
According to Detective Doug Colburn, of the Ellijay Police Department, the emission-reducing devices are usually stolen due to the high-value metals they contain. Per a December 2020 report from Car and Driver Magazine, those precious metals could include palladium, rhodium and platinum.
Last September, catalytic converters were removed from multiple vehicles in incidents that occurred on Sailors Drive. Earl Renfroe Jr. and Adam Dempsey, both of Rome, were charged in those cases, Colburn confirmed.
“We took warrants based on a separate investigation, and we were able to put them at the place and time of all the catalytic converter thefts. They actually hit places all over north Georgia over a period of time,” he added.
Colburn and East Ellijay Police Chief Larry Callahan noted that trucks are being hit more than cars. Battery-powered saws are typically used to remove the converters.
“They would pick trucks that they could get up under very quickly. That’s what the guys form Rome did,” Colburn said.
David “Bo” Stanley, owner of Bo’s Tire and Services, said two of his pickup trucks had their catalytic converters removed during that 2020 spree.
“They got ‘em and gone,” said Stanley.
Fortunately, the longtime tire shop owner, also a mechanic, was able to repair the vehicles. Others weren’t so lucky.
Felipe Diaz, of tree removal and landscaping business Williams Services, said both his pickup truck and wood chipper were also hit. Being left unable to use the chipper caused Diaz to have to cancel several jobs.
“I had to wait about two months because they had to order the part,” he said.
‘It never even crossed our minds’
James Wright, who runs the local trash and junk removal service, Waste Go, said two of his Chevy 4500 trash trucks had their catalytic converters cut off in January of this year.
The vehicles were fine when left in the South Main Plaza parking lot at day’s end, but the next morning was a different story, Wright shared.
“We (parked) them right there in the parking lot, which is lit and right downtown. It never even crossed our minds (that this would happen),” he said, adding that the trucks are no longer parked in that location.
To add to the hardship, each truck has two catalytic converters, Wright said. The damage set him back $1,600, not to mention having to run two of the loudest trucks imaginable till they could be repaired.
“That morning, we had no choice but to send one truck out to start running our route while the other one went to the shop. When it was done, we swapped them out. If you’ve ever been to a monster truck rally, they were that loud — like a Sherman tank,” he added.
Wright was dismayed to see how many of the coveted parts are being sold on Facebook’s online marketplace. He said he’s willing to bet most of them are stolen.
“Unless you had 15 cars in your driveway and went out there and cut them all off, where else would you get a pile of catalytic converters? If you go on Facebook right now and search ‘catalytic converters’ or the word ‘cat’ you’ll see dozens and dozens of people buying and selling them. It shocked me, all the advertisements you see there,” he said.
Wright said whoever hit his trash trucks has not been apprehended yet.
Definitely an issue
Catalytic converter theft has been a crime on the rise in cities and towns across the U.S. throughout the past year, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic began, also according to Car and Driver.
Callahan said, through communication with other police departments, he’s learned the crime has been prevalent in some other Georgia counties.
“A lot of other jurisdictions are just getting killed with it. It’s definitely an issue,” he added.
Callahan said his department also had calls from residents where it looked like someone tried to steal the parts off vehicles, but didn’t finish the job.
“We had what turned out to be people trying to get them, but I don’t think they actually succeeded,” he added.
Colburn noted that Ellijay Police might see this crime about two or three times a year.
“We’ve slowly seen an increase in property crimes over the past few years, but I think it’s a function of our county growing, not as much a crime wave,” he added. “People go out and steal (catalytic converters) occasionally, but I wouldn’t call it a rash. We’ve had more burglaries than we have catalytic converter thefts. It’s just something that’s unusual and people wonder why you’d want to steal them.”