Oakville man arrested after catalytic converters stolen from Toronto food charity’s trucks

Toronto police charged a man from Oakville Thursday after catalytic converters were stolen from a food rescue organization early Sunday morning.

Officers say they responded to reports of a theft at around 12:16 a.m. in the East Mall and North Queen Street area.

Investigators say the suspect or suspects had allegedly driven into a parking lot, cut the fence and entered the parking lot of Second Harvest, a charity that rescues food en route to landfills and redistributes it to people in need, on foot.

They then say the suspect or suspects removed several catalytic converters from trucks in the parking lot, and fled the scene in the same vehicle they arrived in.

Previous reports described the vehicle as a black Infiniti G25 four-door sedan with black rims.

Detectives say they executed a search warrant at a home in Oakville Wednesday, where they located and arrested the accused.

Police have charged 29-year-old Corey Peter Lane with three counts of break and enter to commit an indictable offence, three counts of failing to comply with a release order, and three counts of failing to comply with a probation order.

Lane was scheduled to appear in a Toronto bail centre Thursday morning.

Investigators believe the accused is connected to other additional catalytic converter thefts targeting businesses in the area.

Additional thefts in Toronto involving the theft of catalytic converters

Police say at around 12:46 a.m. on Sunday, unknown suspects allegedly broke into a business in the East Mall and North Queen Street area, and damaged several vehicles during the process of removing catalytic converters before fleeing the area in a vehicle.

Detectives also say unknown suspects allegedly broke into a business at around 2:01 a.m. in the North Queen Street and Kipling Avenue area on Sept. 13,where several vehicles were damaged during the process of removing catalytic converters.

Toronto police say the investigation remains ongoing, as they attempt to locate additional suspects, and businesses that may have been victims of these thefts.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-2200.

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