Chicago Police Nab Catalytic Converter Thief and Three Accomplices Chicago Police arrested four people late last night after they spotted a man lying underneath a car with a battery powered saw in the Lakeview neighborhood. Michael Blissit, 21, of the 5100 block of West Jackson Blvd. was charged with Burglary and Possession of Burglary Tools. Robby Owens, 19, of the 1400 block of North Parkside Av., Keyshawn Jones, 20, of the 4800 block of West Superior and Tiffany Grant, 27, of the 1500 block of North Central Av. were each charged with Burglary. A tactical team from the Town Hall (23rd ) District responded to a radio call of a suspicious person, in the 600 block of West Cornelia Av., lying underneath a green Toyota sedan with another male standing next to the vehicle acting as a lookout around 11:25 p.m. The responding officers, aware of recent reports concerning the theft of catalytic converters, spotted Owens yelling in the direction of Blissit as the officers approached the vehicle. Blissit slithered from under the car and discarded a power saw along the curb. Both Blissit and Owens quickly attempted to enter the side door of an awaiting Chevy Van that contained the driver, Jones, and Grant who were both acting as additional look-outs. Chicago Police quickly placed all four individuals in custody. The officers discovered that Blissit was attempting to cut off the catalytic converter, an emissions-control device on a vehicle’s exhaust system that reduces emission pollutants, from the parked Toyota Sedan. The catalytic converter is a valuable commodity to thieves who are able to resell the device to metal scrap yards where it is stripped of several precious metals, including platinum, that are easily recycled. Police recovered various saw blades from both Blissit and the van along with two catalytic converters. Chicago Police Detectives are investigating whether the group is linked to any similar burglaries. All four offenders are scheduled to appear in Felony Court on January 10th at 2452 W. Belmont Av.
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