After 2 break-ins in one month ended with 11 catalytic converters getting stolen, 7 of CAP-K's vehicles have been put out of commission."It's a gut punch, you know?" said CAP-K Food Bank Administrator Kelly Lawery. "When you come to work every day trying to do something good for the community and then you have to deal with some of these types of things, it adds another layer of challenge." 23ABC's Corey O'Leary has the story.
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00:00 Now to a local non-profit that's looking at an estimated $20,000 repair bill after thieves
00:06 broke into its property.
00:07 23 ABC's Cory O'Leary brings us the details.
00:11 11.
00:12 That's how many minutes it took for a security firm to respond to a break-in at this Cap
00:16 Cave food bank in East Bakersfield.
00:18 However, it was already too late.
00:21 Several catalytic converters had been stolen.
00:23 11 is also the number of catalytic converters that have been stolen from this food bank
00:28 over the past month.
00:29 "It's a gut punch.
00:31 When you come to work every day trying to do something good for the community and then
00:37 you have to deal with some of these types of things, it adds another layer of challenge."
00:44 Two break-ins in one month ended with 11 catalytic converters getting stolen, putting seven of
00:48 Cap Cave's vehicles out of commission.
00:50 "The estimated cost for getting the trucks fixed is about $20,000 and that equals about
00:56 16,500 meals that would be provided with that same money."
01:00 Blaine Hodge, agency relations supervisor for the Cap Cave food bank told me they believe
01:04 the break-ins are a result of people finding vulnerabilities in the non-profit's fence.
01:09 The end result is less help getting to those who need it most.
01:12 "It really limits how much food we're able to get out.
01:16 There's a lot of day-to-day food access point distributions that take place that aren't
01:22 able to get food because we have the manpower but we lack the logistical capability to do
01:28 so."
01:29 "Instead of doing the day-to-day work of looking at how we can address food insecurity in all
01:33 the various cities across Kern County, we have to take time away from that to talk about
01:40 facility security and getting the trucks fixed."
01:43 Risk management supervisor Lori Sproul told me the center is susceptible to thefts because
01:47 it is an isolated location that is dark at night.
01:51 "The evidence that was found following the people being on site was such that they used
01:58 a sawzall to be able to quickly saw them off."
02:02 Cap Cave employees told me they are upset mostly because the thefts prevent them from
02:05 completing their mission to provide food to those in need.
02:08 "It is a little frustrating.
02:09 I'm not going to act like it isn't, but we've got a job to do and we're going to do it.
02:14 Rain, sleet, snow, catalytic converters or not, we're going to do the job that needs
02:19 to be done for the people."
02:20 "If you're frustrated about this, you don't come down and volunteer.
02:23 We do monthly volunteer things.
02:25 You can reroute it to something so much more positive."
02:28 For those interested in supporting Cap Cave, you can learn how to give or volunteer at
02:33 CAPCave.org.
02:36 In East Bakersfield, Cory O'Leary, 23 ABC News, connecting you.
02:42 Now California has one of the highest rates in the country for catalytic converter thefts,
02:46 taking an in-depth look at stats across the state, including which vehicles are targeted
02:51 the most and how much repairs cost if you fall victim to the crime.
02:55 The Bureau of Automotive Repairs says an average of 1,600 converter thefts are reported each
03:00 month across California.
03:02 Theft of an under-vehicle converter takes only minutes with basic tools.
03:07 Targeted vehicles are typically Toyota and Honda products.
03:10 The converters on these vehicles are commonly certified as super low emission and coated
03:14 with precious metals such as rhodium, which has a value at over $14,000 per ounce.
03:21 Lastly, repair costs can be as much as $4,000 and commonly includes damage to surrounding
03:28 pipes, wiring and oxygen sensors.