COPS CATCH CATALYTIC CONVERTER SUSPECTS

TOOLS, GPS POINT TO BURGLARY TARGETING PRIUS-TYPE VEHICLES

By Christian Kallen

At about 2am on Tuesday, April 4, Healdsburg Police noticed a GMC Adadia crossing the double-yellow line on Healdsburg Avenue north of the city, and conducted a traffic stop near Lytton Springs Road.

During the stop, officers observed multiple construction tools on the back seat of the vehicle, which police described as “commonly used in the commission of a burglary—specifically the theft of catalytic converters.”

Sawzalls, a car jack, bolt cutters and an impact gun were found and confiscated, and a photo of them was posted on Facebook with a brief description of the incident.

In addition, when one of the suspects gave permission to police to access his phone, a search revealed that the suspect had a photo of removed catalytic converters on it.

The officers also found that the driver had the vehicle’s GPS navigation set to five specific residential addresses in Healdsburg, based on addresses found in his phone history. Subsequently it was found that most of these addresses were affiliated with Toyota Priuses, “one of the most common vehicles that burglars target for their catalytic converters,” according to the post.

The source of those addresses is being investigated.

Both suspects were arrested for multiple charges, including felony conspiracy and possession of burglary tools, and taken to county jail. One of the suspects was identified as 28-year-old Edwin Valdez-Romero of Suisun City. Confirmation of the identity of the second suspect, also an adult male, is still pending.

“Residents associated with the targeted addresses have been contacted and advised of this incident by police,” concluded the social media post.