MYAKKA CITY, Fla. — A thief in Myakka City might have to answer to a higher power.
Investigators say the man was caught on video stealing a catalytic converter from a church van. The Myakka City Church of God has plenty of surveillance cameras mounted on the property and so, they were able to capture images of what many in the rural part of eastern Manatee County are calling an “ungodly” act.
The timestamp on the video shows it happened just before 8 p.m. on Tuesday, June 22.
The images show a man in what appears to be a charcoal-gray Nissan sedan driving up to the church. In minutes, he’s under the church van, cuts out the catalytic converter and leaves.
The number of catalytic converter thefts has quadrupled during the course of the pandemic, from around 3,400 in 2019 to more than 14,000 in 2020, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
Catalytic converters, which convert hazardous exhaust into less harmful gases, contain valuable precious metals like platinum, palladium and rhodium
Scrapyards have been known to pay anywhere between $50 and $250 a piece for them. The repair can easily cost about $2,000 or more.
Jristin Smith, the pastor at Myakka City Church of God, says they forgive the man who did it and hope he will turn himself in.
“You know, there’s really not anything we can do about it except pray for him. Of course, that’s what we’ve been doing,” Smith said. “Essentially everything, every church, that belongs to God. And he owns it all. And so that’s what we say, whenever you take something from the church, it doesn’t have to be my church, it can be any church, you know, you’re stealing from God.”
There are steps you can take to protect your own property.
Experts say consider garaging your car. If that’s not possible, you can paint the catalytic converter using a bright, high-temperature paint which scrappers would then have to remove, making it a less attractive target.
You can also weld an extra cage or guard over the part or consider etching your VIN number into it so it can be traced.
“We will just pray for him and hope that the Lord will convict him of their sins just like he did the rest of us. And maybe they’ll surrender their lives in the Lord,” Smith said. “But, if not, we’re not blaming God for this, because the Bible teaches us that it rains on the just and the unjust.
“ And so, things are bound to happen in life. You roll with the punches, and thank God anyway, and keep right on going.”
The Manatee County Sheriff‘s office is investigating this case.
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