Santa Barbara County Sheriff's deputies have arrested two suspects for catalytic converter thefts and recovered two of four reported stolen converters on Saturday, Mar. 19 in Carpinteria.
Carpinteria patrol deputies received a report just after 5:30 a.m. of a catalytic converter theft that had just occurred on a Toyota Prius parked in the victim's driveway.
Shortly after, officials say they noticed a vehicle leaving the area and initiated a traffic enforcement stop where they located two catalytic converters in the rear seat of the vehicle.
During a search of the vehicle, deputies located reciprocating saws, a car jack, and other tools.
41-year-old Banny Lo and 27-year-old Gary Lee, both from Sacramento, were arrested and booked into Santa Barbara County Main Jail for grand theft, possession of stolen property, possession of burglary tools, and conspiracy.
Their bail has been set to $100,000.
Officials say deputies responded to two additional reports of catalytic converter thefts in Carpinteria.
The first report was on the 1000 block of Palmetto Way, and the second was an interrupted theft in the 1300 block of Dahlia Court, where the converter was partially cut.
