HILLVIEW, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Hillview Police Department made two arrests as they investigate catalytic converter thefts in the area.  

Hillview Police Chief Bill Mahoney said this type of crime happens across the country, where people steal the car part and cash it in. He said while it is difficult to prevent, officers are doing what they can to be proactive. 

"We're still working to see if there are others out there committing the thefts," he said.

Within the past two months, Hillview Police have made two separate arrests it said are related to catalytic converter thefts.

Hillview police make arrests related to catalytic converter thefts

Evidence police say was collected during an April 25th arrest.

"(Officers) know what to look for now and they had noticed someone acting in a suspicious manner in an area that was known for catalytic converter thefts," said Mahoney, referencing an arrest from April 25.  

According to a citation from the Hillview Police Department, officers found Turner Marlowe with multiple catalytic converters that "appeared to be freshly cut off along with a floor jack."

Then about one month later on May 15, police arrested Bobby Wayne Thornton on several charges. According to a citation from police, after a search warrant was obtained for a vehicle, "numerous sawzalls, sawzall blazes and batteries were found which are consistent with cutting and taking catalytic converters." 

"The individual was actually caught in the act of stealing a catalytic converter," Mahoney told WDRB News. 

Hillview police make arrests related to catalytic converter thefts

Evidence police say was collected during a May 15th arrest.

The citation goes on to say that Thornton admitted to an officer to "taking a few of the catalytic converters in the past week, specifically from vans and box trucks, but did not admit to taking all of them."

Hillview Police now have several boxes of evidence from both arrests at the police department. Mahoney said the department is working with other agencies to continue investigating these types of crimes. 

He said the biggest tool that's been helpful is the community. 

"Whenever we have a crime that's committed such as this, the community obviously gets upset about it," Mahoney said. "They start sending us information. We start going out into the community and talking to people, and it's through that collaboration that we've been very successful." 

He said even if stolen catalytic converters are located, it's difficult to tell exactly what vehicle they came from. Mahoney suggests people put some type of identifying number on their catalytic converters so if it does happen to be stolen, police can know a specific number or mark to look for and get it returned it to the rightful owner. 

Police were able to identify one recent catalytic converter they said had been stolen and return it to the rightful owner, Shannon Stuart. 

Stuart said in late April she was leaving work in Shepherdsville and noticed her car was making a loud sound. Not long after, she realized the catalytic converter had been stolen. 

After seeing a Facebook post about catalytic converter thefts from the Hillview Police Department, Stuart's car was taken to police to see if it was a match. Police said it was, and returned the catalytic converter to Stuart. 

"I'm grateful for the Hillview Police Department," Stuart said. "They worked really close with us and was very, very helpful in our situation."

According to Stuart, the original estimate to fix her car was around $2,300 but after locating the missing piece, the price dropped to about $300. Stuart said the mechanic who put it all back together was shocked she got the catalytic converter back. 

"He said out of his 30 years of business, nobody's ever brought back their catalytic converter that was stolen," she told WDRB News. 

Mahoney said the main targets he's noticed tend to be businesses, especially in the middle of the night. He said if someone sees a person or vehicle believed to be suspicious, call Hillview Police at 955-6808.

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