LEE COUNTY, Fla. — A woman was caught on camera stealing a catalytic converter from a family-owned auto shop in Lee County.
Now, because it happened on their property, they have to pay over $2,000.
“We will start lifting the vehicles and parking under them also,” said Carlos Mangual, the owner of Tuffy’s Auto Service off Colonial Boulevard. “So we’ve put processes in place to try and limit the risk.”
The risk that Mangual is referring to is allowing access for catalytic converter thefts.
“It goes from right here, and it connects to right here, so this piece here is what they call the catalytic converter,” he said. “This is the original equipment, so this is the one that has that special metal in it.”
Mangual searched through hours of surveillance video after a customer complained their vehicle sounded weird when they drove it off the property Friday.
That is when he found a video of a truck pulling up to their parking lot and a woman getting out. She then is seen flashing a light under one car, in particular, to check out the catalytic converter.
“We noticed a truck pulled into the back, and they were shining lights under the trucks to see the catalytic converters,” Manguel said.
He said the same truck and the same woman returned a couple of nights in a row before stealing the car part.
“She didn’t go to any other cars except for the Mitsubishi Outlander,” Mangual said.
They have seen most catalytic converter thefts happening with newer Mitsubishi Outlander vehicles, especially the sport model from 2019 to 2021.
“That has that special metal in the catalytic converters that people are getting so much money for,” he said.
Since the customer’s car was on their property, it is up to Mangual to pay for a replacement.
He said it can cost $2,000.
If you recognize the woman or the truck in the video, Mangual urges you to reach out to police or LCSO.
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