Catalytic converter thefts on the rise in Eugene and nationwide

Upon starting their cars, an increasing number of Lane County residents are finding that the vehicle suddenly makes growling noises like a monster truck — an indicator that the catalytic converter was stolen.

Catalytic converter thefts have been a rising problem in Eugene and nationwide over the past three years, and local car repair shops and the police are taking notice.

Shawn Wisdom, who works at Downtown Automotive Center in Eugene, said he’s already had multiple customers come in with missing catalytic converter since starting at his job a couple of weeks ago, and said these thefts are “definitely on the rise.”

“They’re getting better and getting faster,” Wisdom said of the thiefs.

He wasn’t sure where the parts are sold, but Wisdom thinks there must be interested buyers due to how frequently they are cut out.

“It’s happening and they’re getting something for it, because it’s an occurrence that’s pretty regular now,” Wisdom said. “You wouldn’t be doing it if you weren’t a funded thief.”

Catalytic converters function by both reducing engine noise and preventing harmful emissions and they aren’t cheap – replacing a stolen one can cost up to about $3,000. Nationwide they have become a popular part to steal since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic due to a shortage of the rare metals they contain.

After removing the converter, thieves melt them down or sell the intact part for the valuable metals they contain, such as platinum, palladium and rhodium.

Eugene police arrested three people from Texas who allegedly stole 12 catalytic converters from cars in the city last month, a third of which were from Toyota Prius cars, according to Property Crimes Sgt. Kyle Evans from the Eugene Police Department.

There has been an increase in the catalytic converter thefts recently, Evans said, with 55 reported in Eugene so far in 2022. Incidents of motor vehicle part thefts have also increased nearly 33% from 2020 to 2021, going from 165 to 219, according to EPD spokeswoman Melinda McLaughlin.

Nationwide, catalytic converter thefts increased from 108 converter thefts a month in 2018, rising to 282 in 2019, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau. There was a spike of thefts in December 2020, when there were 2,347 catalytic converters stolen in one month.

Early in the morning on April 23, Eugene police responded to a residential area in the 2500 block of Lakeview Drive, following reports of catalytic converter thefts in progress and shots fired afterwards, according to Eugene police.

One resident reported confronting the three male suspects, before they fled the area in a white minivan, McLaughlin said. The resident got in his vehicle and began to follow the suspects but heard multiple gunshots coming from the van and stopped, and police later found shell casings at the site, McLaughlin said.

How to avoid catalytic converter theft: Tips on protecting your car as thieves target rare metals

One day later at 3 a.m., a resident in the 4300 block of Goodpasture Loop reported a vehicle alarm going off and seeing startled individuals near the vehicle, before taking off in a similar white minivan.

Officers flooded the area due to there possibly being guns, and a sergeant located a white minivan and began to follow it, McLaughlin said. Police eventually located the vehicle in a parking lot and three suspects were arrested without incident.

After executing a search warrant on a van and a hotel room in Portland, Eugene police found multiple stolen catalytic converters, power tools, a floor jack and guns, according to a news release from McLaughlin.

The three arrested were identified as Warren Tavares Duckworth Jr., Dedrian Richardson and Malik Smith, all from Texas. They are facing first-degree theft charges and have their next court appearance May 31 in Lane County Circuit Court.

Asked how to avoid the thefts from happening, Evans said car owners should park in a well lit area, keep an eye out for people interfering with their cars and to listen for suspicious noises.

“The way they're doing it must be rather easy,” Evans said. “They typically seem to be jacking the car up enough to get under it, and then either unbolting the flange and then cutting one side or just cutting both sides.”

Prius vehicles are a prime target, Evans said, in part because their catalytic converters have more of the valuable metals. Some experts recommend buying a device that acts like a metal cage to cover the catalytic converter underneath the car, the USA Today story reported.

Louis Krauss covers breaking news for The Register-Guard. Contact him at lkrauss@registerguard.com, and follow him on Twitter @LouisKraussNews.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Catalytic converter thefts on the rise in Eugene and nationwide