SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — An investigation by the Spokane Police Department Stolen Property Enforcement and Recovery (SPEAR) lead to the arrest of a second suspect involved in a catalytic converter theft in late March.
On Wednesday, police arrested Daniel Girton, 32, at a gas station on North Division after Girton and several companions showed up at a recycling center trying to sell a converter.
The second arrest for the theft comes less than a week after Spokane police officers arrested another suspect for allegedly stealing a catalytic converter from a car parked outside a retail outlet in North Spokane in late March.
According to a press release, after SPD officers received the call from the recycling center on Wednesday alerting them of a possible stolen converter, they found the vehicle at a local gas station and arrested Girton.
During the arrest, officers found a type of saw commonly used to remove a converter and a converter that had been cut inside of the car.
Police arrested second suspect in catalytic converter theft
Officers seized the car that was linked to the theft of two catalytic converters from two passenger buses at the Corbin Senior Center on W. Cleveland Ave last week.
During the arrest, police also recovered evidence that ties the Ford Explorer to the theft of another catalytic converter from a Honda Element, and the investigation is ongoing.
According to the statement, the converter located in the Ford Explorer was discovered to be from a Kia, indicating the Ford Explorer may have been used in other catalytic converter thefts.
Girton was charged with second-degree theft, second-degree malicious mischief, and first-degree attempted trafficking in stolen property He was booked into the Spokane County Jail.
Girton has 11 past felony convictions including second-degree theft and trafficking in stolen property.