Marin Woman Caught Trying To Steal Catalytic Converter: Police

PETALUMA, CA — A Marin County woman was arrested in connection with a recent attempted catalytic converter theft in Petaluma, a police spokesperson said.

The arrest happened around 4:23 a.m. Dec. 11 when a resident in the 200 block of Galland Street called to report he startled a man and a woman during the attempted theft, Petaluma Police Department Spokesperson Jennifer Pritchard said.

The victim saw the man under his car. Both the man and woman then got into a dark-green Volkswagen wagon and drive off.

A reciprocating saw blade was found stuck in the exhaust pipe of the victim's car.

All officers on duty responded to search for the suspects' car, and an officer soon found a dark green VW wagon driving in an adjacent neighborhood.

Officers stopped the car and identified the driver as Idalia Hernandez Arvizu, 23, of San Rafael.

Arvizu, who was alone in the car, matched the description the victim provided of the female suspect, Pritchard said.

"In addition, officers observed a reciprocating saw and floor jack in (the) vehicle, both of which are commonly used to commit these types of theft," Pritchard said. "During a search of the vehicle officers located additional tools and a piece of a vehicle exhaust which had been cut."

A record check revealed Arvizu had three warrants for her arrest out of Marin County. She was booked into Sonoma County jail on suspicion of felony vehicle tampering, possession of burglary tools, and her warrants.

The male suspect in the incident remained outstanding.

"Catalytic converter thefts continue to plague our community," Pritchard said.

Most of these thefts have happened in Petaluma during the early morning hours, between midnight and 5 a.m. while it is still dark, according to police.

Police encourage residents to call 911 if they see or hear what they believe may be a catalytic converter theft in progress.

According to Petaluma Police Department's news release Monday announcing the arrest:

"Keeping the community informed about our catalytic converter arrest progress is extremely important. It illustrates our dedication to reducing this specific type of crime in our area, assures the community that we care about protecting their property, and it lets criminals who see Petaluma as a location in which to commit catalytic converter theft know, that we will hold them accountable to the fullest extent of the law.

"On occasion, we do not release case details immediately, only because that information might jeopardize other aspects of cases we are working on. However, whenever possible, we will report our police activity to the community to educate them on how we are serving the public safety needs of our city. We also want the community to know that we recognize their important role in protecting our community.

"This past year our agency has increased its arrests of catalytic converter thieves. To date, 18 individuals have been arrested for this activity, and because of community members reporting what they see, we expect many more arrests to occur. Just recently we had another arrest because a concerned community member called our dispatch center as soon as suspicious activity was witnessed."

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