Catalytic converter cache seized after Elmwood chase
The driver refused to stop and ultimately dumped the car on Parkside Drive in The Uplands neighborhood, police said.
Berkeley police recovered 11 stolen catalytic converters from a car abandoned during a brief chase in the Claremont-Elmwood neighborhood early Thursday morning.
The culprits got away but police said they "remain vigilant and committed to deterring and apprehending those who target our community."
Just before 3:30 a.m., Berkeley police were dispatched to the 2500 block of College Avenue for a possible catalytic converter theft.
The first responding officer spotted a white Infiniti heading south and tried to stop it.
Instead of pulling over, the driver "accelerated rapidly" and drove into the city parking lot on Russell Street, police said.
Emilie Raguso
When the officer blocked the lot's exit, the driver ignored commands to stop and accelerated toward the officer, BPD said, "swerving at the last moment" and driving over the curb to flee.
The driver headed east on Russell "narrowly missing other patrol cars on the street," authorities said.
Police briefly chased the Infiniti but lost it near Claremont and Ashby avenues.
Using the department's Flock camera license plate reader system, BPD ultimately found the Infiniti abandoned on Parkside Drive in The Uplands neighborhood.
The vehicle was unoccupied, but police found 11 stolen catalytic converters in the trunk along with battery-operated power tools and a floor jack, which are "commonly used in catalytic converter thefts," police said.
The dumped Infiniti and the pilfered "cats." Berkeley police
Ten of the catalytic converters had been taken from Toyotas, BPD said.
Officers also determined that the Infiniti had a stolen license plate that had been taken from a Berkeley resident.
Rising prices for stolen catalytic converters may be contributing to a spike in thefts this year, police said this week.
After years on the decline, Berkeley has already seen a surge in 2026.
