KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Several catalytic converters have been stolen from Kansas and Missouri businesses and nonprofits, cutting into their bottom line.
Gold Star Motors KS in Kansas City, Kansas, was one of those businesses.
"I pick up my phone and sure enough I couldn’t believe my eyes, there’s a nice gentleman walking around through the dealership with a saw in his hand like nonchalant, you know, cigarette smoking, no big deal," said Ari Berman, of Gold Star Motors.
It was a surreal moment for Burman as he watched on surveillance video as the man rummaged through his car lot and cut out catalytic converters, even with alarms going off.
Berman told 41 Action News the man damaged four cars in the morning and returned later that day, stealing two more from other cars. The damage totaled more than $15,000.
"These people are so confident," Berman said. "They’re like, 'Ah, just like going to your local supermarket for shopping, twice in the same day.'"
Catalytic converters also were stolen Thursday morning from three delivery trucks at Habitat KC Restore's Deramus Avenue location. Surveillance video showed as a car pulls up to the location, a person cuts the lock to get in and two minutes later the car leaves.
"It’s unfortunate that we got hit with this," said Kellen Jenkins, marketing and communications manager at Habitat for Humanity of Kansas City.
Restore brings in deliveries from across the KC metro and resells them to the public with revenues supporting affordable-housing solutions to those who need a roof over their heads. That mission has been hampered by this crime.
"It is an unexpected expense," Jenkins said. "You know, we’re a nonprofit. We have to stretch every dollar. This is something we didn’t plan for at all."
They’re out $8,000.
For the time being the nonprofit is using rental trucks but hopes someone out there knows who did this.
"We’ll come back from this, and we’ll be able to continue to help people in need of housing," Jenkins said.
Both KCK and KCMO police departments are looking into these incidents.
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