Two Arrested in Connection to Alleged Catalytic Converter Thefts in Sonoma County
Above: Tools confiscated during arrest | Healdsburg PD
Two men have been arrested in Healdsburg following a traffic stop by the local police department.
According to a department press release, during the stop, officers found several tools commonly used in burglaries, such as sawzalls, a car jack, bolt cutters, and an impact gun, inside the vehicle.
A further investigation revealed that the driver had set his GPS navigation to five specific residential addresses in Healdsburg, most of which were associated with Toyota Priuses, a popular target for catalytic converter theft, police said.
One of the suspects was reportedly found to have a photo of removed catalytic converters on his phone. The two men, identified as 28-year-old Edwin Valdez-Romero of Suisun City and 37-year-old Javier Salgado, a transient from Vallejo, were arrested on multiple charges, including felony conspiracy and possession of burglary tools.
Authorities have contacted residents associated with the targeted addresses to advise them of the incident, police said.
The theft of catalytic converters has been on the rise in recent years due to the increasing value of precious metals, such as palladium and rhodium, found in the devices.
Local police departments have been conducting operations and raising awareness to combat the issue. Residents are encouraged to park in well-lit and populated areas and to engrave their vehicle identification numbers on the converters to make them less attractive to thieves.
Some law enforcement agencies have even begun holding community events where local residents can have their catalytic converters etched for free. Catalytic converters marked in such a way make them instantly identifiable as stolen and much more difficult to sell on the black market.
The arrests of these two men highlight the ongoing efforts to prevent catalytic converter thefts and to apprehend those responsible for such crimes. Law enforcement agencies continue to work together to combat this issue and protect the community from property theft.
