Publish Time: 2022-01-18 Origin: Site
Three-way catalytic converter thefts soar 400% in Houston, and cars parked in front of homes are also stolen！
Last April, police were looking for a suspect who stole a three-way catalytic converter from a car, who had been stealing since 2019 and was jailed, but continued to commit crimes after his release.
Byron Phillips, 49, who was twice caught on camera stealing a three-way catalytic converter from a car, Houston police said.
Phillips, who has two felony warrants for his arrest, was released on bail in another arrest, after which he was caught on video committing the same crime, according to police. They also said he was jailed for nine months in 2019 for the same offence.
The latest figures show that three-way catalytic converter thefts in Houston have increased by more than 400 percent since 2019.
In January 2020, the Houston Police Department received 71 reports, compared with 298 during the same period in 2021. In February 2020, police received 66 burglaries, compared to 329 in February 2021. In March 2020, 73 people reported theft, and in March 21, there were 308 reports.
The three-way catalytic converter is installed in the automobile exhaust emission system. It contains precious metals such as platinum, palladium and rhodium as catalysts that utilize catalytic mechanisms to reduce harmful exhaust gases such as hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides. An environmentally friendly device.
It only takes minutes to cut out the catalytic converter, but drivers in the Houston area cost thousands of dollars to reinstall.
Regarding the importance of automotive catalytic converters, we have talked about it in detail in the previous article. If you are interested, you can click to understand .Cold knowledge: your three-way catalytic converter is "worth a thousand dollars".
One person who was stolen said in an interview that her catalyst was stolen from a grocery store parking lot at 9 a.m. There were only two cars in the parking lot when she arrived.
"I went in shopping, walked slowly, came out after 45 minutes, opened the car to leave, and heard the parking lot like a drag racing convention was going on."
She said a man in the parking lot saw what appeared to be a problem with her and figured it out and told her someone had stolen her car's catalytic.
Not having a three-way catalytic converter does affect the car's ability to drive, but Michael Poutous, owner of Poutous Auto Repair, doesn't recommend driving without a three-way catalytic converter. What's more, if a car doesn't have a catalytic converter, it probably won't pass state inspections.
"If you have a high chassis, you can get down and look, and if you see part of the exhaust pipe pulled out, that's a stolen three-way catalytic converter," Poutous said.
He said his store gets several calls a month about someone's converter being stolen and a customer whose car was stolen twice in three weeks. And getting a new one can cost you thousands of dollars.
“There are so many cases of stolen catalytic converters now that we've called (Toyota) multiple times and it took three to four weeks to get a Sequoia converter. "
Meanwhile, the Houston Police Department said the Toyota Sequoia, Tundras and Prius were prime targets because of their multiple converters.
Auto parts contain precious metals like platinum and rhodium, which thieves can resell for anywhere from $50 to $875, according to the International Association for the Investigation of Auto Theft.
Police advise victims of stolen three-way catalytic converters to call the police.
In fact, the alarm can not fundamentally solve the problem, because of the value of the ternary itself, this phenomenon will be really difficult to solve for a while. However, it is necessary to find ways to reduce losses.
For example, if you are unfortunate enough to be a victim, you still need to choose alternative products to avoid the secondary harm of new product purchases.
GRWA has many years of experience in ternary research and development and production, and is known as the leading brand of domestic automotive exhaust suppliers.
With superior quality and price advantage, it can be called the most cost-effective choice in the international refitting industry.
If you're in need, or someone close to you happens to be in trouble, drop by the store to find out. After all, having a reputable supplier is a good idea, even if you see it as a business opportunity to start a business.
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