SOUTH SALT LAKE — A South Salt Lake car dealer needs help identifying a man who is stealing catalytic converters off vehicles in his lot
The equipment contains three precious metals: platinum, palladium and rhodium, which can be sold for scrap for some "easy money."
But at the Right Place Auto dealership, the same thief has hit them 15 times, taking the "cats" which are the size of a loaf of bread and attached to a car's exhaust system.
“And he doesn’t even have a car, he walks to the dealership with a backpack at six, seven in the morning to steal the converters and leaves,” said Sam Behjani.
The thief has been caught on video multiple times casually strolling through the lot when it’s closed, finding a catalytic converter he wants, then cutting it off.
"He knows we have the cameras and he comes right in front of the cameras, looking at the cars, not scared of anything, no fear and steals the cats,” said Behjani.
The converters cost between just under $1,000, but sometimes upwards of $4,000 apiece.
“Most of the time it’s not about money, it’s about the time and hassle. It’s hard to find the catalytic converters. When he cuts the pipes he cuts the oxygen sensors, it’s hard to find oxygen sensors, it’s kind of hard to deal with all this kind of stuff,” said Behjani.
South Salt Lake Police have a pretty good idea who the suspect is because he apparently dropped his debit card under a car during one of the thefts. An investigation is underway, but police say they have no suspects identified at this time.
Anyone with information about the suspect should contact South Sale Lake Police at 801-840-4000.
