Catalytic Converter Theft Lake Worth

I was the lucky one this time. I launched at about 7:15 AM at Casino Beach Lake Worth and at some point in the day, somebody cut off my catalytic converter.

They could be into catalytic converter sales to supplement their enhanced unemployment

in the middle of the day?!

Not sure what time, but I was there from 7:15am to 3:30pm

What type of truck do you drive?

2011 F150 5.0 v8

That sucks. Meth heads suck

They say theToyotas are the most stolen

Yup the Yota's have 4 of them on there.

Right next to the Marshalls Office

How do they do this? Battery operated Sawzall and metal cutting blades?

Yup, and an officer opened the gates to the ramp just after 7 and they were in the water sometime shortly after cleaning up floaters.

Exactly. They cut both left and right out and cut through 2 oxygen sensors. It will be about $850 in parts on rockauto for the cheapest brand.

Wow

south carolina just passed a new law to prevent cc thefts and it looks like they got it right. sorry to the op and thx for the heads up. i was there saturday from 1pm-5pm and was heading there today before reading this. called ft worth police department and they said these thefts are definitely on the rise so guys be careful.

WE ALL NEED TO CONTACT OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS ABOUT THIS

My son had his stolen last year while he was parked in a hospital parking lot in Dallas.

I'm looking into dash cameras that may be able to capture something like this in case it happens again.

I’m gonna have to put a note on my truck windshield. “If ya steal my converter, you must also take the EZLoader trailer too!”

Great idea there.

It isn't Meth Heads most of the time.

Palladium Price / Oz $ 2,876.79

Each converter brings up to $200.00 at the scrap yard!

The taller the vehicle the easier it is to steal.

Only about 30 seconds per CC to remove.

Fort worth has really gone down the toilet in recent years, some areas are like 3rd world countries. Its pitiful

There needs to be a law that someone selling a catalytic converter must show the title of the vehicle it came from and they must be the owner on the title.

The police really will not anything about it but if they catch them in the act it would different..It is considered a low level crime..

Yes they are, they sell aftermarket shields for Tundras that can deter theft

And buying one without proof of title a felony. Cut off the demand.

Had it happen launching under the 820 bridge never went back… you are right they cut both off and right through the oxygen sensors which sucked because these guys are pros doing this [censored]. It was a older ford ranger but still costed me a round 700 to fix.

need to set up a good sting with 2-3 guys waiting for them.

I am a manager at a Cracker Barrel and almost all of our stores delivery vans in DFW were stolen this past week

Sad but true. "Low level crimes" like theft and vandalism they have zero interest in. The cases are hard to solve and cost the city/county money to prosecute. Much more profitable to write speeding tickets.

Wrong! My Son In Law is a cop, it is about priority. People are freaking nuts now days and most 12 hour shifts they don't even get to stop down for lunch. They are spit on and cussed, one guy recently trying to commit suicide by cop pointing at his ear screaming "shoot me right here, RIGHT HERE" After he was put in cuffs he spat in my SIL face. If he would have shot the guy he would have been plastered all over the news as another evil cop instead of a guy trying to protect people from straight up evil! Domestics, drunk driving, suicides, sexual assaults, all way up because people are being paid to sit home! I am sorry about the CC, I had one stolen a couple years back, it sucks! It is not the cops fault though, it is the dirt bag and the guy buying them from the dirt bags!

Sorry to hear about your CC!!

Someone tried to cut the lock off my trailer at the 820 ramp Sunday. The one on the trailer tongue that keeps it on the ball. They made it about halfway through... gotta be a damn fool to steal an EZ loader. Cops were at the ramp all morning because of the genius below, very surprised someone tried to get at my trailer with all that excitement.

All you said is true and it doesn't dispute a single thing that I said. I agree that it is about priority, and the priority level for this theft is low. So low that I can reasonably conclude that they have zero interest in it. We have a guy on tape stealing one for god sakes and they still can't arrest or prosecute. I fully realize that alot of these decisions are way out of the hands of the police department. Our courts, DA's, and elected officials make many of these decisions. I'm not against police officers. Not sure how you arrived at the conclusion that I think it is "the cops fault". I never said that. I also agree with you that being a police officer is a thankless job. I'm amazed anyone is willing to take on the liability of being a cop these days.

1. Make is a third degree felony to steal one.
2. Owners need to inscribe the last four of the vin (or entire vin if you have the patience) so police can track and find owners.
3. Manufacturers need to put the vin on them or a serial number that is traceable.

Go look on FB marketplace and there are ads for people buying CC and it shows piles of them cut off.

No said it was the police departments fault.. All my family is in law enforcement and my son is staring college and going into it also.. You made my point by listing all the stuff officers have to deal with. Someone stealing a catalytic is NOT a priority. I would not want to be a police officer with the [censored] they go through. I tried to talk my son out of it but he wants to be a state police officer..

In 1939 food assistance began and in 1974 Section 8 began, we now have many generations that have learned everything is free and given to them by he government.

Naturally most of these types live in the urban areas to be closer to their "social services" and this is why your larger cities are havens for poverty and crime.

It also doesn't help that over 40% of the births today are to single moms in the United States. Morality and the family unit are things that are steadily on a decline...

People who think these criminals need rehab and help are a part of the problem too.

Interesting take. Sam Rayburn has had over 50 trucks hit, Fork has had over 100. Not a large city anywhere near, just a bunch of poor white folks shooting heroin, smoking meth and stealing other people's stuff to finance it.

At Lake Aquila here in central TX they are hitting the boat ramp parking lots for catalytic converters.

Same kind of people just different locale. But the crime rate in large urban settings is a lot higher than at Fork or Rayburn. I bet there are 1000's if not 10's of thousands of catalytic converters stolen in urban areas each year.

It's a crime of opportunity

You know I bet that truck parked out there so no one would steal his CC.

Nearly 900 dollars for replacement o2 sensors and catalytic converters on rock auto. I also bought some orange paint and I plan to etch my VIN and license plate on them. Thought about buying some theft preventative devices, but I'm not so sure the thieves just cut through it or cut in other places.

historically are they stealing converters of diesels too or is this primarily a gas engine crime?

They can feel free to cut mine off... Cause I don't have one on my truck!

Someone got fed up

….and ?

The dragging of the person is a bit much, but I think the shooting is justified. RIP you low life thief.

If more of these results were to happen, you couldn’t beg a thief to crawl under a truck. Just sayin.

I live in a corner house, two streets from the police station. I was waken from my bed last night at 2:30am to the sound of gun shots. My son, who was up last night doing college papers online, heard someone in the front of our house. They were trying to break into his car. He ran out in his boxers and fired off a couple warning shots.

We were all back in bed by 3am. Police said try not to fire off “warning shots”. They have to land somewhere.

I didn’t even know he owned a gun.

Wonder if this is the guy in the toyota Tacoma. He has been there for 2 years... kina looks like this guy.

Someone else was hit yesterday at the 820 ramp. If thieves keep getting away with it, they will keep stealing.

It’s time to set em up…

It wouldn't be difficult. Take a bait truck and put a tracking GPS into the CC. Hook a boat trailer to it to make it more realistic looking.

How in the hell do you put a tracking gps into a CC?

How about going after the buyers. I'm not a big government person but we gotta get rid of the buyers to stop the thieves. There will always be thieves, gotta make it harder for them to sell this [censored]. I'd be all for 10 year minimums for buying hot CC's.

question are they stealing these on new cars or/and older also???

My truck is a 2011 f150 with the 5.0. It was a victim.

They caught the guys on aquilla, in jail now

probably only get a slap on the wrist.. Need to spend so time behind bars for a while..

Steal a $500 calf and see what happens.

New law makes it a felony in Texas sir.

real simple to make selling them impossible, pass a law that says they can only be sold with the whole vehicle, no truck = no sale.

I have never heard of a muffler shop having to replace a CC and don't know of a reason they would have to unless a hole or some such happened.

I pity anyone I ever catch trying that chit at fork or elsewhere, dragging them will be the least of their problems.
main reason I won't be fishing any time soon, refuse to use the public ramps at fork due to theft.

Not a very workable solution. CC's need to be replaced and don't last the life of a vehicle, especially in the rust belt or when an engine has a rich condition. From what I have heard many of these stolen CC's are sold as scrap cause the raw materials are worth money.

It's a crappy situation and the police need to figure out how to catch these people.

You cannot stop it but it looks to me like it would be fairly easy to create a law to slow it down.

How about making a law that requires anyone who recycles to document any converter recycling. Anyone who buys the precious metals for recycling, same thing.
I would give the police a good source of information to go after the perps and if one of them is ever caught for stealing one, there is all the information about all the other ones they sold.

Had mine cut off at my place. A neighbor stopped them while walking his dog. They dropped it and the police have it for evidence. I talked to the neighbor he said they were driving a Mercedes with a paper tag for license plate.

Oh they got them on other warrants too, going to be in the tank for a long time