A 29-year-old man has been sentenced to three years in prison for stealing dozens of catalytic converters from cars in broad daylight in Lake and McHenry counties, as well as other counties.
Octavio Goytia, 29, of Aurora, was sentenced earlier this week by Cook County Judge Margaret M. O’Connell to three years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
The sentence came after Goytia pleaded guilty to a Class 2 felony of attempted aggravated possession of a motor vehicle.
Goytia was additionally ordered to pay $31,500 in restitution in the case.
The Illinois Attorney General’s Office said Goytia removed and stole catalytic converters from more than 35 privately owned vehicles across northern Illinois in 2021 and 2022.
“While a vehicle can still operate without a catalytic converter, its removal means the vehicle releases toxic gases and pollutants into the air while running,” Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said.
“This outcome was the result of close collaboration by my office with several state’s attorneys and law enforcement agencies across eight Chicagoland counties. I remain committed to these partnerships that are helping us make our communities more safe,” Raoul said.
Charges were filed against Goytia following a two-year investigation that showed he stole catalytic converters from vehicles in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Will, DeKalb, Lake, McHenry and Winnebago counties from August 2021 through March 2022.
Investigators determined that Goytia, along with Pedro Villegas-Mendoza, 24, of Aurora, stole catalytic converters in broad daylight by jacking up vehicles and using a saw to remove the converters, prosecutors said.
Villegas-Mendoza was sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty last August.
A catalytic converter is a bulbous piece of metal from a vehicle’s exhaust system that filters fumes and reduces harmful car emissions.
It uses elements of platinum, palladium and rhodium metals, which can be sold for profit.
The attorney general’s office said they worked with several state’s attorneys and law enforcement agencies, including the Carol Stream and Wood Dale police departments in DuPage County, which led a multi-county investigation after local residents became victims of the thefts.
The Aurora and Schaumburg police departments and the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office also assisted with the investigation.