CHICAGO – A man who stole catalytic converters from over 35 vehicles in northern Illinois, including Winnebago County, was sentenced to three years in prison.
On Tuesday, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced the sentencing of Aurora resident Octavio Goytia, 29.
Prosecutors said Goytia was arrested during a two-year investigation into catalytic converter thefts in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Will, DeKalb, Lake, McHenry, and Winnebago counties from August 2021 to March 2022.
Authorities said Goytia and his co-conspirator, Aurora resident Pedro Villegas-Mendoza, 24, stole the devices in broad daylight by jacking up vehicles and removing the converters with a saw.
Villegas-Mendoza was sentenced to six years in prison in August 2024.
Goytia pleaded guilty to aggravated attempted possession of a motor vehicle and received his sentence in Cook County court.
A catalytic converter is a component of a vehicle’s exhaust system that initiates a chemical reaction that converts harmful air pollutants into less harmful substances before they exit through the muffler.
Since 1975, all gasoline-powered vehicles in the United States have been equipped with catalytic converters to meet federal EPA regulations.
“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,” Raoul informed me.
“This outcome was the result of close collaboration between my office and several state attorneys and law enforcement agencies from eight Chicagoland counties. I remain committed to these collaborations that help us make our communities safer.”
Detectives from the Wood Dale Police Department arrested Goytia and Villegas-Mendoza in July of 2023.
