Including to the current uptick in catalytic converter thefts, a bunch of thieves in Sacramento, California tried to take off with a complete neighborhood’s value in broad daylight.

The incident occurred at round 5 AM on Saturday morning, and the commotion they have been making was what led the filming witness exterior to start with. One other neighbor got here to assist after realizing the automotive dropping its catalytic converters was his grandmother’s.

The 2 thieves had their minivan stopped in the course of the street and the witness began filming them beneath the jacked-up Toyota Prius. One man was working the jack, whereas the opposite was chopping away on the catalytic converter. After a while recording, the one working the jack realized the witness wasn’t going away, so he bought a blowtorch from the minivan to scare him off.

Learn Extra: Toyota UK Will Add Invisible Markings To Catalytic Converters To Help Catch Thieves

Another neighbors got here to try to assist push back the thieves, who ultimately drove off, leaving their jack behind. Fortunately, the brazen try at catalytic converter theft wasn’t profitable on the Prius, nevertheless a couple of different residents seen their converters had sadly already been stolen.

Because the witness mentioned when interviewed by CBS Sacramento, “I simply thought ‘it was this automotive, we caught them, they stopped, and that’s it. They didn’t go my automotive.’ After which once I began my automotive, it sounded prefer it was lacking catalytic converters.”