$60,000 Worth of Catalytic Converters Found in Missouri Home
I have some family members who have been mechanics, but I doubt even they have seen this many catalytic converters in one place. Missouri police recently shared news of a staggering amount of these vehicle parts that were found in just one house.
The Joplin Police Department dropped this picture and a press release on their Facebook page on December 17.
In case you can't read the small print from the Facebook post, I'll summarize. Joplin, Missouri police have been investigating stolen catalytic converters and served a search warrant at 419 N Walnut Avenue in Joplin. They found a grand total of 98 catalytic converters valued at around $60,000. They say this is the 2nd time they've searched this residence. Charges were forward to the district attorney for Pamela Sims for 1) Information required for Catalytic Converter transactions (Class B Misdemeanor), 2) Licenses required for certain businesses (class A Misdemeanor), and 3) Stealing (Class D Felony).
A reminder of the innocent until proven guilty aspect of an investigation like this. No matter how you slice it, that is a heck of a lot of catalytic converters. 11 Alive did a deep dive into why thieves target these converters and it all boils down to the platinum present.
One person commented that as long as this theft remains a misdemeanor, the problems will continue. There is a push by many states to increase catalytic converter thefts to a felony. Makes you wonder if even that would make crazy pictures of a truck bed full of converters any less rare.