California homeowner stabs man to death with a kitchen knife after he allegedly tried to steal his catalytic converter



A homeowner awoke to find a group of people allegedly trying to steal the catalytic converter from his car, and he stabbed one of them to death with a kitchen knife during a confrontation.

The incident unfolded at about 2:40 a.m. at a home on the 1100 block of Thienes Avenue in South El Monte, a city east of Los Angeles of about 100,000 people.

Lt. Michael Gomez of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said that the homeowner was reportedly awakened by a commotion in his driveway.

The homeowner confronted the three suspects, and an altercation ensued. Police said one of the suspects was stabbed by the homeowner, but the other two fled the scene in an older Honda Accord.

The suspect was found stabbed in the driveway and was pronounced dead by the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Police said the deceased suspect was aged between 45 and 50 years old.

Gomez said investigators found a hacksaw and other mechanical tools at the scene. Deputies are canvassing the area in search of security cameras that might have caught footage of the suspects.

KTLA-TV said the LAPD had detained the homeowner for questioning.

State Farm, the largest insurance company in California, said it paid out $62 million in catalytic converter thefts in 2021, and the company expects 2022 to be far worse.

In a similar story from 2021, a man who was allegedly trying to steal a catalytic converter died when the Prius fell on top of him and crushed him to death in Anaheim, California. A bystander found a scissor jack and a power cutting tool laying on the ground next to his body.

Here's a local news report about the incident:

Would-be catalytic converter thief stabbed to death www.youtube.com

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Watch a California family unleash a paintball barrage to thwart thieves from stealing catalytic converters from cars in their driveway



A blitzkrieg of paintballs pelted catalytic converter criminals who were caught red-handed. A family unleashed a paintball attack on unsuspecting thieves who were attempting to steal catalytic converters from vehicles in the driveway of a California home.

In broad daylight, two men attempted to steal catalytic converters from two trucks parked in the driveway of a home in Turlock, California. Around 12:30 p.m. on Oct. 4, two men tried to steal the catalytic converter from a 2000 Ford Excursion, according to Turlock Police Department spokesperson Sgt. Mike Parmley.

A car alarm sounded momentarily, but the men go back underneath the vehicle after the noise stops.

Family members caught wind of the attempted theft and thwarted the thieves by unleashing a paintball barrage.

Surveillance camera footage shows two men underneath the SUV attempting to remove the catalytic converter. Suddenly, the popping sound of paintball guns shooting the apparent thieves erupts from the home's garage.

The suspected thieves scurried from the driveway as they are pelted with paintballs.

Two shirtless and shoeless men hunt down the suspected thieves with their paintball guns. The alleged catalytic converter thieves fled to a red car that was driven by a third suspect.

"A frustrated resident of the home is captured on home surveillance shooting the two male suspects, multiple times, with a paintball gun," Parmley told KXTV.

The family told the Turlock Police Department that this was the seventh time that catalytic converters were attempted to be stolen from their vehicles. Three of the attempts have caused damage to their cars.

Unlike law enforcement in Florida which encourages residents to defend their property, the police in California advise against it.

"Despite having the right to defend your own property, these types of actions could be very unsafe. Upon confronting individuals committing crimes, their actions are often unpredictable and could lead to intervening citizens becoming victims of an assault or more serious crime," Parmley said.

Anyone with information on the suspects are encouraged to contact Turlock Police Department officer Greg Roton at (209) 668-6536.

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— Jay Lalik (@Jay Lalik) 1665248644

Catalytic converter theft has skyrocketed in recent years.

According to a report by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), there were 1,298 catalytic converter theft claims in 2018, followed by 3,389 claims in 2019, and a whopping 14,433 claims in 2020 – a 325% jump.

Catalytic converters contain precious metals that can be hawked for significant money.

"It's platinum, palladium, and rhodium. You have platinum for around $800 or $900 dollars an ounce. You have palladium for around $2,200 an ounce. You have rhodium that's $18 to $20,000 an ounce," scrap shop owner Dennis Laviage of C&D Scrap Metal told KTRK-TV in April.

Since 2019 through the first three months of 2022, the top five vehicles targeted for catalytic converter theft are:

  1. 1985-2021 Ford F-Series
  2. 1989-2020 Honda Accord
  3. 2007-17 Jeep Patriot
  4. 1990-2022 Ford Econoline
  5. 1999-2021 Chevrolet Silverado

'I just lost it on him': Texas man clubs suspect who tried to steal his catalytic converter



On August 4 at 10 p.m., the motion sensor on Clay Hayner's Ring camera alerted him to movement near his van, parked outside his home in Dallas' Design District. Hayner told Fox 4 that he checked his live security video feed and "saw a guy walking around [his] van and ... starting to move some of the stuff under there." Upon seeing the suspect crawl under his van — despite the deterrents he had installed earlier — Hayner equipped a metal light stand and ran outside to confront the man.

Hayner, a photographer who claims never before to have engaged in a fight, found the suspect allegedly armed with a knife. "He looks at me and he holds up like a knife and I just lost it on him," said Hayner. "My adrenaline was going."

Using the light stand, Hayner clubbed the suspect multiple times. Since the suspect was momentarily stuck under the vehicle, Hayner said he was "able to beat him for a while."

The suspect can be heard on video yelling, "I'm leaving, I'm leaving," before fleeing the scene.

\u201cVIDEO: A Dallas man confronted \u2014 and beat \u2014 a man who appeared to be attempting to steal a catalytic converter from his van. \u201cI\u2019m leaving! Im leaving!\u201d the suspect shouted. Police are investigating. More on @FOX4.\u201d
— David Sentendrey (@David Sentendrey) 1659901710

Hayner noted his regret in permitting the suspect to get away, but was otherwise happy with having defended his property. "At least I got a little bit of revenge for all the past stuff that's happened." This was, after all, not the first time someone had come for his catalytic converter. "This is the fourth time they've tried to take it and they've gotten it twice."

In his rush to get away, the suspect — who has not yet been apprehended — left behind his tool bag, which contained wire cutters, masks, saws, gloves, and knives, along with his bike.

CBS reported that catalytic converter thefts in Dallas are up 25% in 2022. The Dallas Police Department indicated that such thefts in 2021 were already four times higher than the previous year.

Nationally, such thefts have skyrocketed over recent years. 1,298 were reported in 2018, 3,389 in 2019, and 14,433 in 2020.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau attributes the spike in catalytic converter thefts, in part, to the value of precious metals. Catalytic converters contain platinum, rhodium, palladium, and gold. According to a March 2022 KITCO appraisal, rhodium was valued at $20,000 per ounce; palladium at $2,938 per ounce; and platinum at $1,128 per ounce.

To replace this critical component of a vehicle's emissions system could cost between $300 and $2,500, not including the labor cost of installation.

While Hayner successfully chased away the suspect who allegedly sought to remove his catalytic converter, not all confrontations end in the victim's favor.

On August 8, a 54-year-old Chicago man was shot twice after trying to prevent thieves from taking his catalytic converter in West Rogers Park. On August 2, Sergio Maas was allegedly gunned down in Dallas by Isabel Campbell after intervening in a similar theft. A 23-year-old man who confronted such thieves was shot on March 20 in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Suspect apparently tries to steal vehicle's catalytic converter; gets killed when same vehicle allegedly runs over him



A man who apparently tried to steal a vehicle's catalytic converter was killed when that same vehicle allegedly ran him over in Sacramento, California, early Monday.

What are the details?

Initially, the 4:45 A.M. incident was reported as a collision involving a vehicle and pedestrian in the 8100 block of Timberlake Way on the eastern end of Methodist Hospital of Sacramento, the Sacramento Bee reported.

Arriving officers who found the man in question said he sustained serious injuries, the paper reported. He was taken by ambulance to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, the Bee added, citing Sacramento police. Investigators spoke to the vehicle’s driver at the scene of the collision, the paper said.

The deceased man was identified as 28-year-old Jose Adolfo Rangel, the paper said, citing the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office. Police said Monday afternoon that detectives believe the deceased man was tampering with the vehicle in an attempt to steal its catalytic converter, the Bee noted.

A paper said catalytic converters are part of cars' exhaust systems and contain metals highly valuable in the recycling market such as platinum, gold, rhodium, and palladium. The Bee added that those who steal catalytic converters from parked cars typically get underneath vehicles and quickly remove them.

Here's a recent look at catalytic converter thefts at Sacramento's airport:

Catalytic converters not safe fom theft at Sacramento International Airportyoutu.be

Not the first time

As catalytic converter thefts rapidly rise around the country, the fatality in Sacramento wasn't the first time a suspected catalytic converter crook was killed or injured during the act:

  • Last month a Wichita, Kansas, homeowner shot a suspected catalytic converter thief after the suspect approached the homeowner with a cordless saw.
  • In December, police in North Carolina said a man attempting to steal a catalytic converter from a Toyota Prius died when the car fell on top of him.
  • In November, two crooks opened fire on a man who spotted them trying to steal a catalytic converter on a Chicago street. Problem was that their target was a concealed carrier who had a much better aim, killing one of the crooks.
  • Similar to the North Carolina incident, police in Anaheim, California, in 2017 said a suspected thief was crushed to death when a car with a catalytic converter he apparently was trying to steal fell on him.