Mesa police arrest suspects in connection to catalytic converters thefts

By DAVID BAKER

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    MESA, AZ (KTVK) — A Mesa Police Department undercover operation into thefts of catalytic converters has led to six arrests. Operation Heavy Metal was conducted during the summer due to the rise in thieves stealing catalytic converters from underneath cars and vans. The suspects were selling the stolen catalytic converters to undercover officers for $300 to $500 per part. Police also said the group also bought what they believed to be stolen catalytic converters from undercover officers.

Between June 19 and June 20, the thieves broke into the Pick-A-Part located on Extension Road by cutting the power and then cutting siding from the building. They then stole 141 catalytic converters that were estimated to be worth more than $40,000 and 300 pounds of No. 2 copper, including scrap metal copper. The break-in also caused more than $50,000 in property damage.

Mesa police released the names of three of the six suspects arrested. They are 27-year-old Federico Alejandro Guttierrez, 34-year-old Christopher Frenci and 19-year-old Anthony Aguilar Toledo. Police said Guttierrez sold stolen catalytic converters multiple times to undercover officers and arranged deals. He also admitted to cutting catalytic converters from businesses, including from a preschool, police said. Guttierrez faces more than two dozen felonies, including trafficking stolen property and third-degree burglary. Court paperwork said Frenci was part of the catalytic converter heist in June and sold 156 pounds of copper from that crime. He faces more than a dozen charges. Toledo is accused of selling a stolen catalytic converter to an undercover officer for $350 in June. He’s facing a charge of unlawful purchase or sale of used catalytic converter.

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