BURBANK — Three men suspected of felony catalytic converter theft in Burbank were tracked to — and arrested in — the city of Signal Hill.
Jesus Garciaramos, 26, of Sun Valley, Herbert Terceroescobar, 40, of Los Angeles, and Victor Trujillo, 29, of Los Angeles, were arrested Tuesday and booked on suspicion of conspiracy to commit grand theft, according to Sgt. Brent Fekety of the Burbank Police Department.
The men were each being held in lieu of $20,000 bond, and were due to appear in court Thursday, Fekety said. Formal charges are pending review by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
The investigation began about 3:15 p.m. Oct. 5, when police received a report of a catalytic converter theft in progress on the 3000 block of North Kenwood Street in Burbank, Fekety said.
“When officers arrived, they spoke with a witness who said he was standing outside of his business and heard what he believed to be a saw cutting metal. Simultaneously, he observed a male suspect underneath his co-worker’s vehicle, which led him to believe the suspect was in the process of stealing the catalytic converter,” Fekety said.
“The witness took a photograph of the suspect’s vehicle license plate as the suspect fled the location,” Fekety continued. “Officers confirmed the catalytic converter had been stolen.”
About 10:50 p.m. Oct. 7, police responded to the 3000 block of Floyd Street in Burbank, where two vehicles had their catalytic converters stolen on the previous day — and both thefts were captured on surveillance video, Fekety said.
“Based on surveillance video and evidence, investigators believed the three thefts were all committed by the same suspect,” the sergeant said.
On Tuesday, Burbank detectives located the suspect’s vehicle, occupied by three males, and followed the trio to Signal Hill, a city surrounded on all sides by the city of Long Beach.
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“At about 1:25 p.m., investigators observed the driver of the suspect vehicle enter a parking lot, where the males were seen using a floor jack to raise a parked Honda sedan,” Fekety said. “The suspects then began the process of stealing the catalytic converter. All three suspects were apprehended while in the act of the theft.”
Fekety added that during a search of the suspects’ vehicle, detectives located a floor jack, reciprocating saw, and “evidence further indicating the males were involved in the crime of stealing catalytic converters.”