Clarksdale has seen a rash of catalytic converter thefts with crooks coming up and quickly cutting the device off a car and scurrying away. But an arrest has been made.
The Clarksdale Police Department has arrested a man for Grand Larceny and Malicious Mischief in connection with the alleged attempted theft of the exhaust pipe device from off a car in east Clarksdale.
A resident of the 900 block of Lynn Street called police and said two men were in a driveway cutting the catalytic converter off a van. Officers responded and made an arrest.
Police reports said Tommy Davis, 33, of Clarksdale, was arrested in connection with the theft and police are looking for a second person they also believe was involved in the incident.
“One subject was apprehended and the other subject is still at large,” said Assistant Police Chief Norman Starks. “The Clarksdale Police Department is continuing the investigation into this incident.”
Davis was cited and released on bail.
Clarksdale has seen a rise in this type theft this fall and police have warned the community to be on the lookout and call them immediately if they see someone under a car.
Clarksdale police were called to the 400 block of Third Street in November after someone stole three catalytic converters from vehicles parked in the area. Police were also called to the theft of a catalytic converter off a car in the 800 block of Garfield Street in December.
Thieves can take a hand-held power saw and cut the converter off the bottom of a car in a matter of minutes.
The converters – valued at about $300 – are sold for about $100 each to shady scrap metal dealers, who sell them for the exotic metals found in the anti-pollution device. One of the keys to stopping this type of crime is to arrest those who buy catalytic converters.
The community is also urged to call police immediately if they hear the squeal of metal being cut in their neighborhood.
The theft typically occurs at night, but a theft at a local doctor’s office occurred in the middle of the day after a woman went inside as a patient for about an hour.
The incident was captured on video, but the thief apparently knew where cameras were and police have had difficulty getting a tag number or detailed description of the thief.
