An East Bay man was shot and wounded early Wednesday when he tried to cease 4 thieves from stealing the catalytic converter on his automobile, officers mentioned.
Lt. Ray Kelly, a spokesperson for the Alameda County Sheriff’s Workplace, mentioned the person went exterior when he heard a commotion and noticed that his catalytic converter was being stolen. “He tried to intervene and obtained shot within the leg twice,” Kelly advised SFGATE on the cellphone.
Deputies responded to the incident on the 4500 block of Sargent Avenue in Castro Valley at 3:50 a.m., and utilized a tourniquet to the person’s leg earlier than he was transported to a neighborhood hospital, an announcement from the sheriff’s workplace mentioned. Deputies discovered the 4 suspects took off in a silver four-door sedan. A separate patrol unit matched the outline with a car touring on I-580 at a hundred and fiftieth Avenue in Oakland, the sheriff’s workplace mentioned.
When deputies tried to order a cease, the suspects took off and a pursuit adopted, the assertion mentioned. Legislation enforcement misplaced the suspects the place I-580 splits into I-680. Later that morning, the silver sedan was discovered crashed in Walnut Creek. The California Freeway Patrol responded to the incident, however the suspects had fled by the point they arrived, the sheriff’s workplace mentioned.
Deputies took possession of the automobile and located half a dozen catalytic converters that have been reduce from automobiles. Kelly mentioned the incident is beneath investigation.
Catalytic converters have more and more turn into a worthwhile forex for thieves. The emissions-control gadgets are crammed with treasured metals reminiscent of platinum, rhodium and palladium which are value greater than gold. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two payments final month aimed toward cracking down on catalytic converter theft. One will ban individuals from shopping for used catalytic converters from anybody besides specified sellers, whereas the opposite would require consumers and sellers to maintain detailed information on converters purchased and offered.
