Photo: Zepeda’s loot
April 5, 2022 – Ventura County, Ca.
It’s becoming increasingly apparent that both Ventura County’s law enforcement and the motoring public have reached the limits of their tolerance in dealing with the current spate of catalytic converter thefts in the county.
Evidence of that comes in a recent declaration by Ventura County Sheriff’s Department Fillmore Patrol Services and the Fillmore Detective Bureau, indicating that “in an effort to deter would- be thieves,” the cops have recruited several area auto repair shops to their cause. Those businesses now offer car owners a free “etch and sketch” service wherein a license plate number and a VCSD star are engraved into a catalytic converter, making it more difficult for thieves to sell them at any scrap yard.
While publicizing this law enforcement tactic, cops continue to arrest members of organized catalytic converter theft rings.
Case in point: the pre-dawn March 30 th arrests of 36-year-old Luis Zepeda, 31-year-old Ernesto Carbajal, and 32-year-old Pedro Martinez, all residents of Los Angeles.
These three were tracked down pursuant to a citizen’s 911 Emergency call reporting “two suspicious vehicles” speeding away from a Fillmore residential area. Responding deputies spotted the suspect vehicle, brought it to an abrupt stop, and made contact with the three men, two of whom had “outstanding warrants out of Los Angeles County.” Inside their vehicle, deputies found “burglary tools, floor jacks, and illegal drugs.”
Zepeda, Crabajal, and Martinez were all transported to Ventura County Jail, where they were charged with grand theft, possession of burglary tools, conspiracy, and possession of methamphetamine, with their bail set at $250,000 each.
Photo: Courtesy Fillmore Detective Bureau
