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ST. GEORGE — Three men are in jail in Nevada and over 15 catalytic converters were recovered during a traffic stop in Mesquite last month, one that prompted an investigation that led detectives to a storage yard where much of the criminal activity allegedly took place.
An investigation was opened following a Feb. 23 traffic stop after an officer in Mesquite, Nevada, stopped a two-door passenger car shortly before 4 a.m. While speaking to the driver, the officer became suspicious when he noticed the man's hands and clothing were covered in grease and oil, along with the two passengers traveling with him, Mesquite Police Sgt. Wyatt Oliver told St. George News.
When the officer shined his flashlight into the car, he noticed a number of used catalytic converters on the back seat of the vehicle that appeared to have been recently removed from several vehicles – gauging from the fresh cut marks on the devices that were clearly visible at the time.
Armed with a warrant, police searched the vehicle and recovered 16 catalytic converters – six were on the back seat and another 10 were in the trunk, Oliver said. Also recovered were burglary tools, drug paraphernalia and methamphetamine that was later seized by police.
Following the traffic stop, three men were arrested, including the driver, 55-year-old Robert Lee Hodges Jr., and Fernando Contreras, 38, both from Las Vegas, Nevada, as well as a California man, 51-year-old Howard John Ferguson, of Big Bear City. Due to the felony arrest, the trio was transported to the Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
With the men in custody, the case was sent to the detective unit for follow up and also garnered the attention of Mesquite Police Chief MaQuade Chesley, who said in the release the Mesquite Police Department is dedicated to putting a stop to catalytic converter thefts – which continue to be a pervasive problem across the country.
Read the full story at St. George News.
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