Tulsa Police Arrest Man Accused Of Several Catalytic Converter Thefts

Tulsa Police arrested a man they said has wreaked havoc on the owners of a local car lot.

Robby Harvey broke in and stole catalytic converters at least seven times in the last seven months, according to police.

The business owner said more than 50 catalytic converters have been stolen and it's cost the business more than $100,000.

Ed Aamer owners Paramount Capital Motors and said it got to the point where he would stay up all night long and watch his surveillance cameras looking for the thief.

He said the same car showed up at every break in and that car is how police said they finally caught Harvey.

Aamer said Harvey has been a thorn in their side since December and they are thankful he's been caught.

He said Harvey stole the catalytic converters and gas from the cars. He said he saw the car show up again on his cameras a couple nights ago and called police.

"I had to do whatever I had to do to catch that guy,” said Aamer.

Police said they had been getting a lot of burglary reports from Aamer and other businesses in the area for months. The street crimes unit had been heavily patrolling the area, hoping to finally catch the thief.

"The officer realized something was different about the gate. He had checked it just an hour prior and knew something was wrong, then located the vehicle, which he knew matched the description of the suspect vehicle that he was looking for. And that's when he found the girlfriend inside the car,” said Officer Danny Bean with Tulsa Police.

Harvey's girlfriend told officers Harvey was inside the lot. Police said they found him hiding under a car, with a car jack and burglary tools.

Police said it's important to go after the serial thieves.

"It's huge. It is a big crime. It is not a victimless crime. It's victims that are involved in this and people are taking their property,” said Bean.

Aamer said these crimes take a toll on small businesses.

"Like for him to go sell them. He will sell them for $200 or $300. But if I want to replace it, it is going to cost me over $2,000,” said Aamer. "We're like really relieved finally because when you know there's a guy like that behind bars it is such a big relief for any business owner."

Records show Harvey has spent time in prison for arson, burglary, stealing cars and drugs.

Police said when they arrested Harvey, he already had four catalytic converters in the trunk of his car.

Tulsa Crime Stoppers and local businesses have launched "Etch to Protect," where people can have their VIN numbers etched on their catalytic converters for free. Here is a link for more information: http://tulsacrimestoppers.org/etch-to-protect/