Three suspects were taken into custody after being caught in the act of stealing catalytic converters. The Jefferson Police Department received a call from Bret Durbin, of Durbin Automotive, at approximately 2:39 a.m. Tuesday morning, reporting he had seen the three, with one under a vehicle, at the lot in the 200 block of West Head Street, and he could hear a power tool running. Durbin told officers that before they arrived, the three had walked southwest. An officer and a deputy with the Greene County Sheriff’s Office found the suspects near a parked vehicle in the 400 block of West McKinley, and could see a battery powered Sawzall in that vehicle. During the course of the investigation, law enforcement officials also found three catalytic converters removed from vehicles at Durbin Automotive, three battery-operated reciprocating saws and other tools used in the theft. This led to the arrests of 47-year-old Jason Edward Trotter of Perry, 40-year-old Nicholas Joseph White of Newton and 30-year-old Sharlee Jean Royce of Grinnell. They have all been charged with second-degree theft and felony possession of stolen property, class D felonies, and fourth-degree criminal mischief and trespassing causing more than $300 in damage, serious misdemeanors. Officers requested and received a warrant to search the vehicle to gather additional evidence and executed the warrant at approximately 5:05 p.m. They recovered a substance suspected to be methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. Narcotics charges are pending laboratory testing results.
