Cops: Police dog finds catalytic converter thief in Rocky Point pine barrens
A Suffolk County police canine officer apprehended a catalytic converter thief following a three-hour law enforcement search through a 6,000-acre preserve in Rocky Point Saturday morning, police said in a news release.
The search began after a nearby business owner saw a man walking through a Route 25A parking lot around 9 a.m. carrying a saw and a catalytic converter.
Daniel Labbe, 42, of Medford, managed to evade police for nearly three hours as dozens of officers searched the Rocky Point State Pine Barrens Preserve. He was arrested after the police dog, Champ, located him and canine officer Matthew Dewitt was able to bring him into custody.
Labbe is facing several charges, including fourth-degree grand larceny and second-degree auto stripping, police said. He was brought to an area hospital for treatment of minor injuries following his arrest.
A police aviation unit assisted in the search.
Police said a pair of catalytic converters had been stolen from a commercial box truck in the area. At least one of the parts was recovered.
Mr. Labbe pleaded guilty to auto stripping earlier this year in connection with a December 2020 incident, according to online court records. He is scheduled to be sentenced in that case Dec. 13.
In Suffolk County, 819 catalytic converters had been stolen through August of this year, up from 289 in all of 2021, Suffolk police told Newsday earlier this month. Nassau County saw an even larger increase, with 445 reported in 2021 rising to 1,549 through August of this year, a department spokesperson said.
Catalytic converters can be taken in a matter of minutes and have an average worth between $800 and $1,200, according to the analytics and data firm J.D. Power, making them a high value target.
The devices — which are attached to a vehicle's muffler and located underneath the chassis — contain precious metals such as platinum, palladium and rhodium, and are used to convert toxic engine exhaust into less harmful gases.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
