I truly do hate a thief.
By Marie Coyle
@MarieCoyle (59273)
May 15, 2023 8:54pm CST
For months, probably a year, many people here and in surrounding towns and cities are going through a rash of thieves stealing catalytic converters from cars. Some of them are even stolen in the daytime, these people are FAST thieves!
I am fortunate enough to have a nice garage that houses my vehicle when I am not driving it. Not everyone has that option, I know, my son being one of them. He lives in a very tiny apartment, about one block from one of our police stations and the police parking lot. He always makes sure to lock up. But last night, someone tried to take his. They didn't succeed, however they damaged a lot of the undercarriage trying to steal it! To the tune of over $600++ . His car sits low, we think they had a problem gettting to the actual converter because of this. Thankful they didn't steal it, but still mad they had to be so destructive.
With all the jobs available out there right now, I would think it would be more of a steady income to get a job rather than steal for a living!
Another friend had his stolen in a nearby town, while he was eating at a restaurant last week. So pay attention to your local news and your surroundings, if you can.
14 people like this
11 responses
@DaddyEvil (174590)
• United States
16 May 23
A guy in a nearby town was killed when the jack he was using to hold the car up fell while he was trying to steal the catalytic converter from it. His wife was my boss at Walmart about five years ago.
3 people like this
@MarieCoyle (59273)
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16 May 23
Oh, wow! What a way to go...stealing. And how sad that he lost his life being a thief and being stupid!
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (59273)
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16 May 23
@DaddyEvil
I would have been ashamed, as would you. But that might speak for her character, as well.
3 people like this
@DaddyEvil (174590)
• United States
16 May 23
@MarieCoyle She got fired not long after that.
3 people like this
@LadyDuck (502653)
• Italy
16 May 23
Every time we went to Italy to see my Mom we had a problem with our car. We had a garage, but one night they came inside, removed the back windows of the car (to avoid that the car alarm starts), they damaged all the font board to steal the radio and CD player. It was a 3 months old Mercedes. I am glad the insurance covered the damages. After another Mercedes was stolen and never found again, we rented a small car to go to Italy.
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (502653)
• Italy
16 May 23
@MarieCoyle - We could not stand anymore to have problems. The rented cars also were burgled, I remember that they stole the extra tire from one, they opened another but there was nothing inside to steal.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (59273)
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16 May 23
Oh, wow...I would have resorted to renting for going there as well, Anna. Some people make a living by stealing from others who have worked for what they have.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (59273)
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16 May 23
@LadyDuck
Oh good grief, Anna! How terrible that you could not drive anything over there without it being burglarized in some fashion.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (59273)
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16 May 23
Of course, I always make sure mine is locked if I have to go somewhere else, shopping, etc. But that doesn't mean they can't get to it from the outside. They even break windows here if you leave something in your vehicle that they think is worth stealing.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (59273)
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16 May 23
This is so, so important. Be aware of your surroundings, always!!1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (59273)
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16 May 23
Yes, it is. But here in the US you can get one tiny little dent in your car from something and it's not unusual to see a $1,000 price tag to fix it. Prices for car repairs are wild.
1 person likes this
@Deepizzaguy (122256)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
16 May 23
I dislike thieves myself. The bad part of living in my current home is that there is no garage to place the auto.
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (59273)
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16 May 23
Where I used to live, I had a carport and I really didn't like it. I am very glad to have a garage.
2 people like this
@jeanbug23 (992)
• Philippines
16 May 23
Just a couple of months ago, a thief came to our house three times and he was not even afraid of the police who came but they weren't able to catch him. We just have to fix our house around and make fences with barbed wires and built a cctv with an alarm. Life is hard nowadays so thieves are just around the corner.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (59273)
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16 May 23
Oh, wow, even barbed wire! You would think they wouldn't try to breach that, but thieves are stupid. I have cameras but still...my neighborhood is pretty quiet, but we just never know.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (153529)
• India
17 May 23
They must have been jobless during the pandemic and resorted to this Hopefully as you say they will get jobs and give up robbing
@Fleura (35069)
• United Kingdom
16 May 23
It has been happening here too, although not quite so bad. I confess I don't even know for sure if my car has one! I need to read the instruction manual and see if it is mentioned. Sorry your son was picked on, that is so maddening. And the police (at least here) are useless. You just have to hope karma comes back to bite them.
1 person likes this
@Fleura (35069)
• United Kingdom
16 May 23
@MarieCoyle Sometimes I think a well-lit place just helps the criminals!
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (59273)
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16 May 23
@Fleura
I know what you are saying...like we are making it easier for them so they can see where they are going, to steal our stuff!
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (59273)
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16 May 23
I don't consider him picked on so much as it was circumstantial. He was parked at the end of the parking lot. Well lit, but no cameras. That's supposed to be his designated spot, but when it's taken by another car, he has to look for a spot not taken. Whatever it was, someone surely did do a number tearing some things up. Ugh.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (222623)
• United States
16 May 23
It takes just a minute to steal a catalytic converter; and they are worth quite a bit. I'm so sorry that they caused so much damage to your son's car.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (59273)
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16 May 23
Thank you, we are sorry as well. I just hate thieves.
1 person likes this
@CarolDM (203396)
• Nashville, Tennessee
19 May 23
@MarieCoyle I know what you mean Marie. Thoughts are with him.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (59273)
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19 May 23
@CarolDM
Thank you so much. If he doesn't catch some type of break soon, I can't imagine what will be next.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (59273)
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17 May 23
We do as well. This is unfortunate for us and I hurt for him that it happened at all. We are so very careful, but evidently careful is not enough.
1 person likes this
