Two Aurora men charged with stealing 35 catalytic converters across 8 counties

KANE COUNTY – Two Aurora men were charged with catalytic converter thefts from more than 35 privately owned vehicles in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Will, DeKalb, Lake, McHenry and Winnebago counties, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced Wednesday in a news release.

Raoul’s office charged Pedro Villegas-Mendoza, 22, and Octavio Goytia, 28, both of Aurora, with two felony counts of theft greater than $10,000 and one count of aggravated possession of a stolen motor vehicle, according to the release.

Villegas-Mendoza also was charged with 38 counts of possession of a stolen motor vehicle, and 38 counts of burglary. Goytia also was charged with 36 counts of possession of a stolen motor vehicle and 36 counts of burglary.

In documents filed with the DuPage County Circuit Court, Raoul alleges that from August 2021 through March 2022, Villegas-Mendoza and Goytia worked together to steal the catalytic converters.

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.

Raoul said that Villegas-Mendoza and Goytia traveled across the eight counties – and in broad daylight – removed the catalytic converters by jacking up vehicles and using a saw to remove the converters.

Raoul’s office filed the charges after an almost two-year investigation in collaboration with several state’s attorneys and law enforcement agencies, according to the release.

Detectives from the Carol Stream and Wood Dale police departments in DuPage County led a multi-county investigation after local residents were victimized by these thefts.

The Aurora and Schaumburg police departments and the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office also assisted with the investigation.

“While a vehicle can still operate without a catalytic converter, removing it will release toxic gases and pollutants into the air,” Raoul said in the release. “These charges are the result of close collaboration by my office with multiple state’s attorneys and law enforcement agencies to investigate thefts in eight Chicagoland counties. I am committed to ensuring these individuals are held accountable and ultimately to keeping our communities and environment safe.”

DuPage Circuit Judge Margaret O’Connell set bond for both Villegas-Mendoza and Goytia at $350,000. Their next court date is Aug. 14, also before O’Connell.

Deputy Chief John Brassil of Raoul’s Special Prosecutions Bureau will prosecute the case.

The most serious charges both men face are the thefts greater than $10,000 and aggravated possession of a stolen motor vehicle, all three are Class 1 felonies punishable by up to four to 15 years in prison, if convicted.