One February night Dennis Krupatkih was at home when his phone went off. Surveillance equipment at his Metro Auto Sales business detected someone on the premises.
“I saw a guy with a back pack trying to pull the doors on the cars to see if they opened, and then he laid down under the car so I called 911,” said Krupatkih.
Police were there in minutes and caught a suspect.
“They caught him right under the car. He already cut off catalytic converter on one car and was working on another one,” said Krupatkih. “His sawzall was working so hard that he probably did not hear the officers pull in, so they just grabbed him from under the car while he was doing it.”
Blaine police arrests 34 year old Matthew Jacoboski of Minneapolis. He faces two felony counts. It cost the car dealership $2,400 to fix the cars that were damaged. Police say they see surges in thefts converters because of the valuable metals inside.
“The ease in which individuals are able to access and remove these items is staggering,” said Spring Lake Park Police Chief Doug Ebeltoft. “It’s become more and more prevalent and because of the amount of money that these precious metals inside these catalytic converters will generate for individuals, it is causing a demand.”
Chief Ebeltoft says it’s not just car dealerships thieves are targeting.
“It’s at dealerships or it’s in neighborhoods or its in local places of worship during the day, during the evening, during the night. It’s amazing how quickly it’s done.”
The Spring Lake Park City Council just passed a resolution supporting a proposed law to regulate the sale of catalytic converters to scrap metal dealers.
“The theft of catalytic converters can affect anyone who has a vehicle, and it is on the upswing,” said Council Member Barbara Goodboe-Bisschoff.
State Representative Kelly Moller (DFL- Spring Lake Park, Shoreview) is co-author of the bill in the state legislature.
“The first thing is that it requires that scrap metal dealers can only purchase catalytic converters from auto repair shops, recycling facilities, or someone who can prove that the converter was legally removed,” said Moller.
It would also be illegal to possess a used converter that’s not attached to a car, unless you have proof of ownership.
“If somebody steals these and they can’t actually sell them to anybody, then there’s really not as much of an incentive for them to steal them,” said Moller.
Dennis Krupatkih supports the tougher laws.
“Trying to make some money and when this happens, not very good,” he said.
