ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — Two men are facing a total of 67 felonies and two misdemeanors in St. Johns County.
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Investigators say 25-year-old Raymond Vega and 20-year-old Aaron Dixon drove up from Miami to steal catalytic converters.
Catalytic converters are a hot ticket item for thieves, it’s part of the exhaust system located underneath cars.
“Don’t come to St. Johns County and steal cat converters because you’re going to go to jail,” St. Johns County Sgt. Kyle Cubbedge said.
It’s what landed Vega and Dixon behind bars. They’re accused of stealing at least eight of them from fleet cars at Carpet One/Ancient City Group LLC in St. Augustine.
They’re facing charges of burglary, grand theft, criminal mischief, possession of burglary tools, possession of stolen catalytic converters, and resisting an officer without violence.
Investigators say eight more catalytic converters were found inside their car.
“These groups come and go to different areas just to try and target different people in different jurisdictions,” Sgt. Cubbedge said.
The two drove up from Miami, Sgt. Cubbedge with the property crimes unit for SJCSO said when a deputy blocked them in with the patrol car, a third suspect got away. There’s a possibility other local spots were hit and a possibility the suspects are part of something bigger, according to Cubbedge.
“We have a lot more digging and research and search warrants to do to try and connect the dots of these rings, but from investigations in the past related to cat-converters, it usually involves a ring, a group of people doing this,” Sgt. Cubbedge said.
Catalytic converters can cost upwards of $3,000 to replace, not including any damage done to the car itself. For the most part, it’s the precious metals that thieves want.
“A couple of years ago when we worked a ring of them, one of the metals was worth more than gold at the time,” he said.
Sgt. Cubbedge said it’s important for businesses to take precautions and be aware.
“Be aware, install cameras, monitor the cameras,” he said. “The cameras are a big part in these investigations.”
Sgt. Cubbedge told Action News Jax during this investigation process, they’re hoping they can collect everything they need on time to get the catalytic converters back to the owners, so they’re not out thousands of dollars. The sheriff’s office said the investigation is ongoing.
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