Catalytic Converter Theft Thwarted After LA Homeowner Fatally Stabs One Suspect With Kitchen Knife

A Los Angeles, California homeowner thwarted a catalytic converter theft yesterday by fatally stabbing one of the suspects with a kitchen knife, according to police.

The incident occurred in the early morning hours, around 2:30 a.m. and the suspect who was stabbed to death along with possibly two other suspects were attempting to steal a catalytic converter from a vehicle parked in the driveway of the home.

According to KTVU, the homeowner told deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department that he was sleeping when he heard a group of men talking in his driveway.

Deputies said that the homeowner then grabbed a kitchen knife and was confronted by the group of burglars when he went outside.

The homeowner was detained for further questioning, although it is unclear if they are still in police custody or not.

One Twitter user responded to the news by noting, “According to @cd4losangeles this is the fault of car makers for making them easy to steal.”

“I mean you can’t make this stuff up,” he deadpanned.

according to @cd4losangeles this is the fault of car makers for making them easy to steal. I mean you can't make this stuff up. pic.twitter.com/EQP66PIFEu

— Todd (@ToddEdits) April 21, 2023

As the National Review reported, Los Angeles councilwoman Nithya Raman on Tuesday voted against a measure banning the unlawful possession of catalytic converters and blamed car manufacturers for making the part too easy to steal.

“In this case, I think one of the things that infuriates me, is that we have a company — whatever, Toyota — who makes the Prius, that essentially has a device on their cars which is super easy to remove. It’s basically the value of a MacBook, right?” the Harvard-educated councilwoman asked.

Raman also said, “That is put in a place that is incredibly easy to access in your car and the thefts related to this issue have essentially — all of the costs of that — are given to us to bear instead of them [Toyota] having to manufacture a car that actually is not so easy to be stolen.”

Despite Raman’s objections, the motion, which pointed out that nearly 8,000 catalytic converter components had been stolen across Los Angeles in 2022, passed by a vote of 8-to-4.