HOUSTON — As the value of metals is rising, so is the variety of catalytic converter thefts.

Few locations within the Houston space are proof against the crime, which may price automotive house owners 1000’s of {dollars} to repair.

Nonetheless, thieves proceed to become profitable from this type of crime. The legislation enforcement officers KHOU 11 Information spoke with stated it is getting worse.

“I’m an eighth-generation Houstonian. I’ve been residing right here all my life, so it’s actually exhausting to see how individuals might prey on older individuals,” Gail Smith stated.

Smith’s catalytic converter was stolen from her Honda whereas it was parked at her senior residing complicated.

“It doesn’t really feel good in any respect,” she stated.

It’s been virtually a month, and the automobile remains to be within the store.

“They did numerous injury up underneath there,” Larry Smith stated. “They reduce some wires and every little thing underneath there.”

On a Saturday morning in early February, neighbors stated two males in a black truck pulled into the car parking zone of the senior residing group in Sugar Land.

One of many males crawled beneath Smith’s SUV, and with two cuts, eliminated the catalytic converter.

“That’s the way it at all times occurs, they only come, ‘click on, click on, click on’ after which they’re gone,” Larry Smith stated.

Fortunately, a neighbor was watching from her balcony and scared them away.

“We’ve received to pay a $500 deductible they usually need extra on the Honda dealership for fixing it,” Gail Smith stated.

Dennis Laviage, the proprietor of C&D Scrap Steel, has been within the enterprise for 43 years. In that point, he’s seen his share of catalytic converters.

Catalytic converters aren’t a lot to have a look at, but it surely’s what’s inside that issues.

“The cones in listed here are what have the palladium, platinum and the rhodium and the entire alloys that make up the catalytic converter,” Laviage stated.

As a way to purchase a catalytic converter, scrap sellers are required to carry out an exhaustive variety of steps to make sure its legitimacy.

“I’ve to place the markings on it, paint them, we now have to have a duplicate of their driver’s license, we now have to have two signatures, two fingerprints, a duplicate of who weighed them, who paid and footage of what you bought,” Laviage stated.

For Laviage, he’d fairly not must mess with it.

“It’s numerous hassle and I don’t need to take care of something which will have been stolen,” he stated.

However not each scrap supplier is as cautious.

“I’ll inform you this, there’s numerous firms in Houston that may purchase these, out within the county, within the metropolis, they will not be so kosher on them,” Laviage stated.

He doesn’t suppose the thefts shall be slowing down anytime quickly.

“How do you cease it?” Laviage stated. “You’re by no means going to cease it.”

Police stated one of many methods to forestall your catalytic converter from getting bought on the black market is to color them or engrave the final 4 digits of your social safety quantity on them.

That’s not really easy for everybody.

Though they’ve made a number of arrests previously two months, Sugar Land police stated they’re seeing a rise in catalytic converter thefts this yr.

The Smiths are simply grateful the thieves have been stopped earlier than they made off with extra.

“It’s getting exhausting for seniors residents,” Gail Smith stated. “Older individuals like myself.”