Baldwin Park police have busted a massive catalytic converter theft ring after a nine-month investigation, authorities said.
The Police Department launched its investigation last July after noticing a “significant rise” in catalytic converter thefts. It had some success in reducing thefts after an initial series of arrests but, by November, criminal activity was again on the upswing, the agency said in a statement Wednesday. The department concluded that one of the suspects who had been released was involved in the theft ring again.
Then, police realized that thefts were increasing in neighboring areas, too, and roped several other agencies into their investigation, including the Los Angeles County and San Bernardino County sheriff’s departments and the Arcadia, Chino, Montclair, Azusa and West Covina police departments. The joint investigation pointed to two key locations — a place in South Los Angeles where people were buying the converters and a place in Norwalk where the converters were being stored, police said.
The investigation came to a head Tuesday, when Baldwin Park police and several other agencies raided the Norwalk storage location, arresting four people and seizing about 1,800 stolen catalytic converters that police said had a combined street value of about $500,000. One suspect ran away.
The four people arrested were Yusel Cutinopenate, 44; Fernando Sanchez, 52; Robinson Echeverría Chavez, 30; and Graciela Sanchez, 46; Baldwin Park police said. Charges are expected “in the next few days, pending the potential arrest of other key players,” Baldwin Park Police Department Lt. David Leon wrote in an email.
The suspects were “actively loading” stolen catalytic converters into commercial vehicles, “raising concerns that the stolen property was about to be transported out of state,” Leon said. They were arrested to confirm their identities, gather information and preserve evidence before they were released. Charges have not yet been filed, Leon said, because doing so before other suspects are arrested could damage the broader case.
“A strong case has been developed against the arrested individuals,” Leon wrote. “Detectives will continue to investigate all outstanding suspects and persons of interest before seeking formal filing with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.”
Photos posted by the department on its Facebook page showed three men and a woman in handcuffs in a storage facility and a storage container about half full with what appeared to be catalytic converters.
Catalytic converters turn toxic gases into water vapor and carbon dioxide, making car exhaust fumes less environmentally damaging. They are expensive to replace — between $1,000 and $4,000, according to AAA — because they contain precious metals. They are a frequent target for thieves because they are relatively easy to access and remove and usually contain no markings tying them back to the vehicle they were stolen from.
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