Two Men Arrested for Thefts of Catalytic Converters

Two men suspected for a string of vehicle and catalytic converter thefts in Sonoma County were jailed Tuesday in Marin County after law enforcement officers watched them steal an emissions control device from a parked pickup truck in Novato, authorities said.

Michael Helms, 47, of San Pablo and Larry Hernandez, 45, of El Sobrante were booked into Marin County Jail as suspects for felony grand theft and other charges and are expected to be sent to Sonoma County Jail in Santa Rosa, according to Sonoma County sheriffs Sgt. Michael Raasch.

Just after 10 a.m., deputies arrested the two men after a short chase on Binford Road, which runs parallel to Highway 101 on Novato’s north side, Raasch said. Sonoma County detectives had followed the men to the Atherton Avenue Park-and-Ride lot just off Highway 101 and watched them break a catalytic converter off a gray Toyota pickup truck.

 “This one happened in broad daylight, and they parked right along the fence line,” Raasch said. “… We tried to stop them and they took off. They pulled over after about a mile up Binford and said they were scared and they knew they were caught.”

While searching the truck, detectives found burglary tools, drugs and two catalytic converters — one was matched to the Toyota truck.

Both suspects were turned over to Novato police because the alleged crime happened in its jurisdiction. 

Helms was arrested on suspicion of grand theft, conspiracy, possession of a controlled substance, possession of burglary tools and driving on a suspended license. Hernandez was arrested on suspicion of grand theft, conspiracy and possession of burglary tools. 

Their bails were set at $110,000. 

Catalytic converters are devices attached to a vehicle’s undercarriage that turn toxic emissions— carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon pollutants — into carbon dioxide and water, according to several websites. Raasch said Sonoma County has been dealing with a rash of catalytic converter thefts since January because the devices can be sold to junkyards for $40 to $60.

“They are targeting vehicles that are pretty easy to crawl under, specifically Toyota and Nissan pickups and SUVs,” Raasch said. He said thieves often use electric saws or wrenches to quickly take catalytic converters off vehicles.

Both men had been arrested April 21 in Sonoma County after a report of an occupied suspicious vehicle, according to a sheriff’s department press release. A sheriff’s deputy detained Helms and Hernandez and found several unreported stolen tools belonging to a business in the Sonoma Valley area. When deputies tracked down an employee of the business, he told the deputies that the tools were stolen during the night from his locked work truck.

Deputies found three freshly cut catalytic converters, electric hand-held saws and burglary tools inside the suspects' truck. The men were linked to thefts of the three Nissan pickup trucks in the Rincon Valley neighborhood of Santa Rosa. All three trucks were found within a mile from where they were stolen and all three had the catalytic converters cut off the exhaust pipes. 

Helms and Hernandez were arrested April 21 for possession of stolen property and they were booked into the Sonoma County jail, but they posted bail and were released before detectives had a chance to complete a follow-up investigation.

Helms and Hernandez are scheduled to be brought back to Sonoma County to face the earlier charges.

On Wednesday, detectives linked the two men to a stolen car report in Rohnert Park on Tuesday morning. Raasch said video surveillance showed the men stole the car out of a Walmart parking lot. They were in a dark Chevrolet pickup truck when they were apprehended in Novato.

“I’m pretty sure we can link these guys to older reports,” Raasch. “It’s rewarding to get these people off the streets.”