Police arrest Muskegon man for theft of catalytic converters, car parts which contain precious metals

COOPERSVILLE — Deputies from the Ottawa County and Kent County sheriff's offices arrested a Muskegon man Saturday for larceny, after the man was suspected to steal a catalytic converter from a car in a Coopersville parking lot.

Daniel Springer, 50, was arraigned in Ottawa County's 58th District Court Monday, Nov. 15, on charges of larceny from a motor vehicle. Per Police, he remains in the Ottawa County Jail with a bond of $75,000.

OCSO authorities say they've identified a group they believe to be involved with numerous thefts of converters in the area, and have contacted surrounding law enforcement agencies.

Catalytic converters are used to convert chemical pollutants produced by the car’s engine into less-harmful exhaust for the air. The converters, sometimes referred to as cats, sit underneath cars. Cars made before 1974 don’t have the parts. Some newer cars have two.

The parts are often stolen for scrap metal. Converters on older cars sometimes have trace amounts of precious metals like platinum, gold, palladium and rhodium, depending on the car model. Catalytic converter scrap can be sold from anywhere from around $20 to $450, depending on the car model.

Cars that sit higher off the ground often are targeted more, since it’s much easier to crawl underneath them and saw the converter off.

Without the converters, engine exhausts make much more noise, meaning if one is stolen, it’s generally easy to identify the missing piece.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Police arrest Muskegon man for theft of catalytic converters