Police arrested two men they caught stealing a catalytic converter from a parked car in Greenwood.
Sean Paul Siegman, Jr., 42, and Joshua S. Wickline, 42, were arrested on charges of possession of stolen property, a Level 5 felony, and criminal mischief.
Officers responded about 4:30 a.m. Wednesday to a report of a suspicious vehicle in a parking lot in the 900 block of County Line Road, according to a Greenwood Police Department report.
Police did not locate the suspicious vehicle at that location, but found it later in the 900 block of Emerson Parkway, according to the report.
Officers approached the vehicle and saw a man, later identified as Wickline, of Greenwood, standing behind it. He fled on foot, the report says.
Police saw another man, later identified as Siegman, of Franklin, underneath an SUV in the parking lot next to a cut catalytic converter, saw blade and flashlight. He told police he was finishing what Wickline had started, according to the report.
Officers noticed a woman in the backseat of the suspicious vehicle, and a clear glass pipe known for using methamphetamine and a syringe, both of which she told police were not hers, the report says.
Police found Wickline laying behind some nearby bushes. He told police he was not involved in cutting off the converter from the SUV, but later told police the three had driven from Southport, where they cut off another catalytic convertor, to Greenwood to find more. Two stolen catalytic converters were recovered, according to the report.
Catalytic converters are targeted because they are made with precious metals, such as platinum, palladium or rhodium, that are valuable to metal dealers. Thefts of catalytic converters have become an increasing problem across the state and in Johnson County. About 150 converter thefts were reported last year throughout the county.
All three suspects were taken to the Johnson County jail. Siegman is held on a $6,600 bond and Wickline is held on a $4,300 bond.
The female suspect, Jessica Griffith, 28, of Franklin, was arrested on charges of possession of a hypodermic syringe or needle, a Level 6 felony, and possession of paraphernalia. She is held on $2,200 bond.
