Sonoma County sheriff’s deputies arrest three suspected catalytic converter thieves in Santa Rosa

The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office arrested three people early Saturday morning on suspicion of multiple felonies after the deputies found what they said was a stolen catalytic converter.

Deputies suspect the theft is the latest incident in a long string of catalytic converter robberies in Sonoma County.

An observer alerted deputies at around 4 a.m. that they saw three people walking around a car at the intersection of Santa Rosa Avenue and Oceanic Way in southeast Santa Rosa, north of Todd Road. The observer then heard power tools, according to a report on the Sonoma Sheriff Facebook page.

Deputies contacted the suspects and found tools as well as a catalytic converter, according to authorities. The car the two men and one woman were spotted near was found to be missing its converter.

Jimmy Diaz, 44, of El Sobrante, McKenzie Tidd, 27, of Richmond, and Marvin Washington, 42, of Vallejo were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy, receiving stolen property and grand theft. They also face misdemeanor possession of burglary tools. Tidd and Washington also face misdemeanor drug charges.

The three were released under measures the county has implemented to reduce the jail population during the pandemic, according to sheriff’s spokesperson Misti Wood.

Santa Rosa and the county at large have seen a spike in catalytic converter thefts. The parts are valuable because they contain precious metals, and tempting to thieves because they can be removed with relative ease, according to law enforcement officials.

From Nov. 1 through Feb. 25, law enforcement agencies around Sonoma County fielded reports of more than 400 of such thefts, according to data compiled by the Santa Rosa Police Department that includes reports to the sheriff’s office and city police departments.

You can reach Staff Writer Andrew Graham at 707-526-8667 or andrew.graham@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @AndrewGraham88