Person wanted who stole catalytic converter from church van

The Orange County Sheriff's Office is asking for help locating a thief who stole a catalytic converter from a church van and drove away after trying to remove two others before he was caught in the act.

Deputies sad a man removed a catalytic converter from a van belonging to Wayside Baptist Church on July 18. Officials said three catalytic converters were cut from two vans with a reciprocating saw. Someone interrupted the man as he was removing a converter from a second van. The suspect got into a vehicle and drove away, leaving two of the converters behind.

A catalytic converter reduces harmful emissions from automobile exhaust, using metals such as palladium, rhodium, gold, or platinum as the catalyst. The metals can be extracted from the converters and sold for a profit. Officials said a catalytic converter generally doesn't have a Vehicle Identification Number stamped on it, which makes tracing them very hard once they are stolen.

“This type of theft is hard to stop because it can happen so quickly,” said Sheriff Charles Blackwood. “In this case, witnesses provided a description of the suspect and the vehicle he drove, and these descriptions matched available video footage. We hope the public can help us identify the suspect.”

Officials are looking for the man pictured above. He is between 50-60, is around 6-foot-2 with a thin build. Witnesses said he left the church driving an older model, dark blue, four-door Honda Accord. The car had temporary tags on it and the driver’s side mirror appeared to be held on with duct tape.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Walter Vila at 919-245-2907.