SAN FRANCISCO— On Wednesday, May 31, San Francisco Police Department officers arrested four teenage male suspects – three 17-year-olds and one 15-year-old – involved in catalytic converter thefts and in possession of firearms, SFPD indicated in a statement on Thursday, June 1.
At approximately 2:23 p.m., while SFPD Ingleside Station officers were conducting a catalytic converter abatement operation, they were dispatched to the 1900 block of Alchemy Boulevard on a report of a catalytic converter theft. Officers learned that a black four-door sedan – later revealed to be a stolen vehicle – was seen fleeing the area of the incident and was possibly involved.
At around 3:40 p.m., officers located the suspect vehicle near Fulton and Pierce Streets. They followed the vehicle and initiated a traffic stop in the area of Edinburgh Street and Persia Avenue. The suspects fled the vehicle on foot, and after a short pursuit, officers made contact with the suspects on Alchemy Boulevard near Interstate 280. All four suspects – later identified as a 17-year-old Fremont resident, a 17-year-old San Francisco resident, a 17-year-old Antioch resident and a 15-year old Brentwood resident – were taken into custody and booked at the Juvenile Justice Center on various charges including: resisting arrest, minor in possession of a firearm and carrying a loaded firearm with intent to commit a felony. One of the 17-year-old suspects was also charged with violating his probation.
Due to the suspects being juveniles, their identities will not be released at this time.
During an initial investigation, SFPD officers uncovered three loaded handguns, five catalytic converters, burglary tools and several other pieces of evidence that linked the suspects to catalytic converter thefts.
Officers identified and matched each stolen catalytic converter to the vehicles that reported them stolen. All of the catalytic converters were returned to their respective owners.
This remains an open investigation and anyone with information about the incident(s) is urged to call the SFPD 24-hour Tip Line at 1-(415) 575- 4444, or text TIP411.
