Siblings held on suspicion of stealing car converters

Costa Mesa police arrested a man and a woman early this morning on suspicion of attempting to steal parts off the bottom of a Toyota.

Adan Zacarias, 32, and his sister, Esmeralda Zacarias, 21, both of Orange, were arrested and booked at Orange County Jail. The duo were charged with conspiracy to commit vehicle tampering, possession of burglary tools and possession of stolen property.

According to Sgt. Bryan Wadkins, a resident on the Eastside contacted police at 3:54 a.m. when he heard a loud engine roar outside and saw a man looking into the window of his Toyota 4-Runner. The resident confronted the man, who fled the scene in a vehicle.

Soon after, Wadkins said, police pulled over a car that matched the caller’s description and found pipe cutters and other tools inside, as well as a number of catalytic converters that appeared to have been removed from other Toyotas.

Wadkins said thieves often target catalytic converters because they are easy to sell or strip for materials. The converters protrude from undercarriages and reduce toxic emissions from engines.

“This is occurring all over the place,” Wadkins said. “We have had our share of them occurring in Costa Mesa, but it’s not just a Costa Mesa crime problem.”

— Michael Miller