A California woman sleeping in her car outside a Target in Palmdale on Tuesday woke up to hear someone trying to steal her catalytic converter, started her car and allegedly ran over and killed the suspect in the robbery, according to authorities.
Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department deputies responded to the scene of the suspected attempted robbery just before 6 p.m. in the parking stall next to it.”
Officers then saw a Hispanic male, later identified as the robbery suspect, “lying on the ground” after being “run over by the victim,” LASD said in a news release.
The victim had been sleeping in the Ford vehicle when a “smaller vehicle” with two Hispanic men and two Hispanic women inside pulled into the space next to her.
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The victim of an alleged catalytic converter theft incident ran over the suspect and killed him. (AAron Ontiveroz/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
One of the men “got out of the smaller vehicle and started cutting into the catalytic converter” of the victim’s Ford, which he heard.
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The victim woke up, started her car, put her Ford in reverse “and felt a bump like she hit something,” LASD said.
The catalytic converter theft incident occurred outside a Target in Palmdale, California on Tuesday. (Google Maps)
“She pulled over immediately, leaving the suspect on the ground after running over him. The Grand Theft victim called 9-1-1 to obtain medical assistance for the suspect,” the press release reads.
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Authorities detained the three remaining suspects in the smaller vehicle and transported the converter theft suspect to Antelope Valley Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
In February, LASD’s “Antelope Valley Cat Crusaders” conducted an operation that resulted in the recovery of 41 catalytic converters that had been stolen.
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Catalytic converter thefts are on the rise in the United States. The street value of a catalytic converter containing precious metals ranges from $200 to $1,000, according to the sheriff’s department.
Authorities recommend adding identifiable etchings or stickers to catalytic converters to help catch suspects and prevent converter theft.
