State police investigating after catalytic converters cut off vehicles at Seven Springs

SOMERSET COUNTY, Pa. — State police are trying to track down the people accused of cutting off and stealing catalytic converters right from under parked vehicles in and around the Seven Springs area. Troopers said if the crooks are good, they can get out from underneath a car in seconds.

“It could be as few as 10-15-20 seconds if you really know what you’re doing with a good sharp cutting implement,” said Trooper Steve Limani. “Usually people use a saw or sawzall, something of that nature.”

State police said as many as 30 vehicles were hit just over the last few weeks. They told Channel 11 the thefts are happening at all hours of the day and night over a several mile area. At $400 a piece, it comes with a costly repair for vehicle owners.

“They’re causing hundreds and hundreds of dollars of damage to maybe get $100. Those catalytic converters are expensive,” Limani said.

Depending on the market, the precious metals inside the converters can make them pretty valuable.

Right now, troopers said they don’t have any leads.

“We don’t have anything of value so if anybody has any information that could be the little piece of information that breaks the case wide open,” Limani said.

Investigators are also putting out the alert to scrap yards in the region where the melted down converters may show up.

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