Catalytic Converter Thief Killed

Estimated read time 2 min read

Some are calling this justice served.

Stealing catalytic converters has become such a trend nationwide, some victims have had to replace theirs multiple times at great expense. Because of the costs imposed on the innocent, attitudes toward catalytic converter thieves aren’t exactly charitable these days. So when one alleged thief died in Georgia while trying to hack the cat off a Mercedes SLK in a used car dealership lot plenty of people didn’t shed a tear.

Watch a thief drive a car off a high rise here.

According to the Chatham County Police Department in Georgia, officers responded to a call of a dead man found underneath the German sports car at about 9:15 am on March 7. After investigating the scene, items found there indicated the man, 32-year-old Matthew Eric Smith, was illegally taking off the vehicle’s catalytic converter when the SLK slipped off the jack holding it up, crushing Smith to death.

While an SLK isn’t the heaviest car on the road, it still weighs enough to kill you. They also have a low ride height, so it’s possible Smith had to jack to the car way up to have room to work on removing the catalytic converter.

One local news station interviewed the owner of the car dealership. He found the dead body under the Mercedes and called police. While it was shocking to find such a thing, the man also told the reporter interviewing him that he’s outraged by all the theft his business has endured lately.

Not only are people stealing catalytic converters from the vehicles for sale, the dealership owner says they’re going after radios, tires, and other items that can be easily resold. We’ve seen these kinds of trends in other places, including thieves just taking the whole vehicle and parting it out to sell off the components.

With all the theft, the owner of the dealership said he might be force to change how the business operates so it can stay profitable. Despite so many trying to claim these types of crimes are victimless, the fact is not only the owner but the employees of the dealership could suffer greatly from these thefts.

Source and image: WTOC

Steven Symes https://writerstevensymes.com/

Steven Symes is an accomplished automotive journalist with a passion for all things related to cars. His extensive knowledge and love for the automotive world shine through in his writing, which covers a diverse range of topics.

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    The Auto Wire

    […] only is car theft out of control these days, so is the theft of valuable parts off cars, like catalytic converters. There have been plenty of incidents of people taking the law into their own hands lately, but one […]

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