Catalytic converter thieves recently raided a Pennside neighborhood by secretly disabling the exhaust systems of three vehicles parked on the street overnight, Central Berks Regional Police said.
The thefts occurred overnight between July 25 and 26 at Emerald Avenue and Park and Bingaman Street in the Lower Alsace Township enclave, Detective Christopher Mayer said.
Police were called to investigate Friday morning after the victims started their vehicles and discovered a piece of the exhaust system was missing, Mayer said.
Police combed the area but found no security camera footage or witnesses who could provide a description of the perpetrators.
A resident reported hearing a suspicious noise around 3 a.m., possibly coming from a reciprocating saw believed to have been used to cut through the exhaust pipes, Mayer said.
All three targeted vehicles were parked on the street.
Many catalytic converter thefts have also been committed recently in other municipalities.
In late February, Hamburg police investigated several thefts of converters in residential areas adjacent to the city’s central business district.
Hamburg Police Chief Anthony Kuklinski said at the time that the nighttime thieves were brazen because the inverters had been cut out of exhaust systems in front of the owners’ homes with a cordless saw. Two of the thefts occurred across the street from the police station.
According to police, catalytic converters are stolen because they contain high-value commercial metals including platinum, palladium and beryllium
Often the thieves take the items to a buyer somewhere else in the area, who then resells them.
Anyone with information about the thefts is asked to contact Central Berks Regional Police at 610-779-1100. If you see a theft in progress, call 911 immediately.
Tips to solve crimes can be submitted anonymously through the Crime Alert Berks County anonymous tip line at 877-373-9913, or by texting the keyword “alert berks” to 847411.
Crime Alert pays out a cash reward for tips that lead to an arrest. Tipsters can earn the reward by revealing their identity.
