Serial Catalytic Converter Thieves Caught

San Francisco police said two men were arrested after officers investigating an auto burglary at Stonestown Mall tracked a suspect vehicle to El Cerrito Plaza and found six stolen catalytic converters inside. The arrests were announced in a May 13 department statement that tied the pair to the May 7 burglary and to additional catalytic-converter theft cases. Police identified the suspects as 39-year-old Calvin Fries of Bay Point and 34-year-old Wyatt Zapien of Brentwood. Both were booked into San Francisco County Jail on burglary-related charges, and police said the case remains open. ### How did an auto burglary at Stonestown Mall lead police to El Cerrito Plaza? On May 7 at about 10 a.m., San Francisco police responded to Stonestown Mall after witnesses reported that suspects had broken into a vehicle and stolen items, the department said. Officers then began searching for the suspect vehicle with help from the Real Time Investigation Center, or RTIC. (sanfranciscopolice.org) The Real Time Investigation Center and the Citywide Plainclothes team used automated license plate reader technology in what police described as a coordinated real-time search across the Bay Area. During that search, officers learned that the license plate on the suspect vehicle had itself been reported stolen, according to the department. (sanfranciscopolice.org) ### What did investigators say they learned about the suspects? San Francisco police said Berkeley police helped identify a possible associate of the suspect vehicle as Calvin Fries. Investigators said Fries was linked to other crimes, including catalytic-converter thefts, auto burglaries and fraud. (sanfranciscopolice.org) Police also said the suspects switched the vehicle’s license plate during the investigation. An automated license plate reader alert later triggered near El Cerrito, which sent San Francisco plainclothes officers to the area, the department said. ### What did officers find when they reached El Cerrito Plaza? (sanfranciscopolice.org) El Cerrito Plaza was where San Francisco officers located the vehicle and detained two suspects, according to the May 13 statement. Police said officers safely took Fries and Zapien into custody there. During a search of the vehicle, officers recovered property stolen in the Stonestown auto burglary, burglary tools and six stolen catalytic converters, police said. (sanfranciscopolice.org) The department did not identify the owners of the converters in the statement. ### What charges did police list for Fries and Zapien? (sanfranciscopolice.org) San Francisco police said Fries and Zapien were booked on multiple charges, including second-degree burglary, possession of stolen property, possession of burglary tools and conspiracy. Police said Zapien was also booked on three out-of-county warrants. (sanfranciscopolice.org) The Burglary Unit also linked Fries to one additional catalytic-converter incident and Zapien to two additional catalytic-converter thefts and a felony evasion incident, according to the department. Police did not say in the release whether prosecutors had filed charges as of May 13. ### Is this the same investigation as the earlier March catalytic-converter arrest? (sanfranciscopolice.org) A separate San Francisco police statement published March 9 described the arrest of 19-year-old Deric Gonzalez-Rodriguez in another catalytic-converter investigation. In that case, investigators said a white four-door sedan had been tied to multiple theft reports across the city over several months. (sanfranciscopolice.org) San Francisco police did not say in the May 13 release that Fries or Zapien were connected to Gonzalez-Rodriguez’s case. The department treated the May arrests as part of the Stonestown burglary investigation and listed separate case numbers in the release. ### What happens next in the case? San Francisco police said the investigation remains open and active despite the arrests. (sanfranciscopolice.org) The department asked anyone with information to call 1-415-575-4444 or send an anonymous text tip to TIP411 beginning with “SFPD.” (sanfranciscopolice.org)