Catalytic converter thief hits Lock Haven

LOCK HAVEN, PA – City police Tuesday reported two catalytic converter thefts, part of a growing number of such thefts nationwide as the perpetrators take them for the rare metals inside.

The City Hall report said the converters were removed from vehicles in the 300 block of E. Clinton Street and the 10 block of S. Henderson Street.

The Clinton Street theft saw the removal of the converter from a Lyons Pressure Wash box truck parked at the company garage there. Owner Rich Lyons said the garage he talked to for replacement quoted a $1,000 price tag for an original equipment replacement. Lyons said the theft was “an easy target because of how big the truck is and where it was sitting.”

There has been a sharp increase in such thefts nationally, rising from an average of 282 per month in 2019 to 1,203 in 2020. Authorities say the converters are taken for the rare metals inside; rhodium and palladium reported now worth more per ounce than gold.