Contact: Watch Commander, (805) 339-4416
Release Prepared by: Commander Sarah Heard
VENTURA POLICE DEPARTMENT
Incident: Catalytic Converter Theft Arrests
Location: 2500 Block of Harbor Blvd
Date/Time Occurred: 11/23/21 @ 0423
Officer(s) Involved: VPD Patrol
Suspect(s): 3 Male Juveniles – Los Angeles, CA residents
Report #: 21-77695
Narrative:
An alert resident called 9-1-1 after witnessing the theft of a neighbor’s catalytic converter in the 2500 block of Harbor Blvd. The witness gave a suspect vehicle description and said it was last seen leaving the area onto Harbor Blvd. Ventura Police Officers responded and canvassed nearby neighborhoods. A patrol sergeant located the suspects and caught them in the act of committing another catalytic converter theft in the Portside Ventura Harbor neighborhood. The suspects failed to obey commands and fled in their vehicle at a high rate of speed. After a short vehicle pursuit, the suspect vehicle crashed when failing to negotiate the turn onto Seaward Avenue. All three suspects were taken into custody. They had minor injuries from the collision and were taken to a nearby hospital for medical treatment. The three juvenile suspects were from the Los Angeles area. They will be booked in juvenile hall for Conspiracy, Grand Theft, Possession of Burglary Tools, Vandalism, and Possession of Stolen Property. The driver will also be booked for Vehicle Evading.
Eleven catalytic converters were located in the suspects’ possession, along with car jacks and burglary tools used to remove car parts. Investigators are processing the evidence and hope to return the catalytic converters to their owners. As of now, we have only identified three catalytic converter theft victims in the City of Ventura. All eleven converters appear similar to those of a Toyota Prius. If you have any information about this crime or are a victim of a similar, recent catalytic converter theft, please call Detective Karl Reyes at 805-339-4476.
The complete press release, including suspect description, can be viewed online at www.venturapd.org If you have any information about this crime, you can make an anonymous call to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS. If your information leads to an arrest, you could receive a cash reward of up to $1,000.
VENTURA POLICE DEPARTMENT • 1425 DOWELL DR. • VENTURA, CA 93003 • 805-339-4400 WWW.VENTURAPD.ORG – WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/VENTURAPOLICE
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