Clay Hayner tells Inside Edition he does not regret his decision to confront a thief attempting to steal his converter after hearing about the death of "General Hospital" star Johnny Wactor.
More than 60,000 catalytic converters are stolen in the Unites States every year. What should you do if you witness parts being stolen from your vehicle?
The fatal shooting of "General Hospital" star Johnny Wactor has called attention to the crime, after it came to light that Wactor interrupted a catalytic converter theft.
Clay Hayner confronted an alleged thief attempting to steal his truck’s catalytic converter.
It was not the first time someone ripped the car part from underneath Hayner’s vehicle in Dallas.
“That was the fourth time they had attempted to get it or got it and the only thing that went through my head was to stop him, I didn’t think about any danger at all,” Hayner tells Inside Edition.
Even after the news of Wactor’s death, Hayner says he stands by his decision to fight back.
“I would do the same thing. In fact, I would have made more effort to catch him,’ Hayner says. “I’m not going to let those guys scare me.”
Unlike Hayner, Wactor was apparently unaware that thieves were trying to steal his converter when he approached. By the time Wactor realized, it was too late.
Hayner is not the only driver who stood up to catalytic converter thieves.
When Donny Buehler heard a man using a chainsaw to cut off his converter, he ran out of the front door of his home to confront him. Buehler reached into the getaway car to grab the man.
He tells Inside Edition he regrets his decision. “My wife was not happy with my choices,” Buehler says.
Sergeant Tracy Hicks with the Houston Police Department says to steer clear if you come across a theft in progress.
“Paint them green, orange, red, whatever. When a criminal sees that, ‘Oh, I'm not going to be able to sell this one.” And because that way when we catch these bad guys with a carload of catalytic converters, the ones that are painted, we can arrest them for possession of stolen property,” Hicks says.
Thieves can get up to $15,000 selling catalytic converters to junk yards.
