DA: Man sold 99 stolen catalytic converters at Suffolk scrap yard
A Georgia man stole parts from trucks in commercial lots and was charged with selling 99 catalytic converters to a Suffolk scrap yard during two months this summer, the Queens district attorney's office said Wednesday.
Surveillance footage at several commercial locations caught George Stevens, 30, and an accomplice arriving in a Lexus and breaking into the locked and fenced parking lots in Queens and the Bronx, according to Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown.
A court-ordered GPS was placed on the Lexus, and the data showed the car was at three crime scenes when catalytic converters were stolen, prosecutors said.
From July 14 to Aug. 28, Stevens removed catalytic converters from 21 trucks at five locations, authorities said, and he stole three from privately owned Toyota Sequoias in Queens between Aug. 26 and Sept. 12.
One Bronx company official discovered eight catalytic converters missing from trucks parked on the warehouse lot on Aug. 28, a loss of more than $8,000, according to the complaint against Stevens.
NYPD detectives discovered Stevens traded 99 catalytic converters for cash at a Suffolk recycling facility between July 14 and Sept. 3, prosecutors said. These parts reportedly sell for $100 to $150, authorities said.
The location of the recycling facility was not disclosed in the criminal complaint or by prosecutors.
Stevens was arraigned Tuesday in Queens Criminal Court on six counts of third-degree grand larceny, six counts of third-degree criminal possession of stolen property, eight counts of third-degree criminal mischief, two counts of fourth-degree grand larceny, two counts of fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, eight counts of unauthorized use of a vehicle and five counts of third-degree criminal trespass.
He was ordered held on a bail of $40,000 bond or $20,000 cash. If convicted, he faces up to 7 years in prison.
Stevens' Legal Aid attorney could not be immediately reached Wednesday afternoon.
His alleged accomplice is still being sought, authorities said.
"As the price of scrap metal increases, thieves are growing more brazen and more aggressive, as today's case clearly illustrates," Brown said in a statement. "While stolen catalytic converters can reportedly fetch a thief between $100 and $150 at a scrap yard, the cost to the victimized owners of the vehicles is much higher -- both in terms of having the vehicles repaired and the potential increase in insurance premiums."
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