Oklahoma faces catalytic crime spree

The staff of CFN heard what sounded liked the Greased Lightnin' car barreling through the parking lot on Feb. 28.

 

CFN's chief photographer hopped into his trusty blue pickup truck earlier that day and started her up.

 

"Much to my surprise, it was louder than the stock car racers down by the river," the photographer said.

 

He stormed into the newsroom and declared, "You're not going to believe this, but somebody stole my damn catalytic converter!"

 

A CFN investigation of the crime scene revealed a clean cut underneath the truck, in addition to a loud-ass roar emanating from the Ole Blue's underbelly. The incident occurred between 11:45 a.m. and 4 p.m. that day.

 

Just down the street on Feb. 18, a catalytic converter was swiped from a vehicle parked at N.W. 36th Street and N. Classen Boulevard, according to the victim. That President's Day pilfering occurred during lunchtime in broad daylight. We're not making this up.

 

Three suspects, who appeared to be broken down on 36th, raised the hood on their vehicle in that incident. Another suspect allegedly laid down next to an adjacent pickup truck, according to the victim.

 

"That person had a cutting tool, cut off the converter, hopped back into the vehicle and sped off," the victim said, noting that those suspects have not been apprehended. "Talking to local auto shops, thieves are mainly targeting foreign pickups from the late Nineties because those vehicles are loaded up with platinum. A girl on my block is running straight pipes after she got tagged recently."

 

This form of thievery isn't unique to Crown Heights. In a separate and apparently unrelated story, The Oklahoman reported two men were arrested Feb. 17 near the 500 block of S. Broadway in Edmond on complaints of possessing catalytic converters that allegedly had been stolen from automobiles. According to a police report, a cordless reciprocating saw was discovered, along with seven catalytic converters, in the suspects' vehicle. - Gazette staff

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