Two men arrested this week while stealing a catalytic converter are suspected in a series of similar thefts in the Ortonville area.
Jason Brian Morgan, 23, of Clarkston, and Dannie Vernon Vore, Jr., 27, of Davison, were arraigned Jan. 8 at 52-2 District Court, each on one count of larceny. The pair were released on personal bond although more charges were expected.
According to police reports, Oakland County Sheriff’s Office deputies from Independence Township were dispatched to a park and ride lot near Sashabaw Road and I-75 on Jan. 7 for the report of a suspicious vehicle. Deputies arrived and observed a white pick-up truck with the motor running and headlights off. The driver, later found to be Vore, began beeping the horn repeatedly. Meanwhile, Morgan was found lying on his back under a full-size GMC pick-up truck. He got out and began ducking around as the deputy approached and ordered him to the ground while also ordering Vore out of the vehicle. When the deputy asked Morgan what he was doing, he responded, ‘Getting the converter.?
The deputy found a cordless saw on the right rear tire of the vehicle Morgan had been under and found the left catalytic converter cut off the vehicle. In the bed of the truck Vore had been driving, the deputy found two converters. Also in their truck, deputies found numerous tools, a Ryobi saw, a ‘Whizzinator,? (synthetic urine and prothesis used to fool drug tests), and a ski mask containing a spoon and drug syringes which were sent to the crime lab to be tested for narcotics.
Morgan stated to police he was out of work and had developed a drug habit with no way of paying for it. He said he had stolen approximately 12 catalytic converters in the past few weeks, including some in the Ortonville and Brandon area, and was selling them for about $40-$60 each.
Vore told police he was driving Morgan’s truck and Morgan had promised to pay him $50 and was not involved with any other thefts; however, detectives interviewed a source who said Vore told him that he and Morgan stole converters from Solley’s, Ortonville Transmission, Master Rack, and all police reports in the newspaper were him.
The owner of a scrapyard in the 3000 block of Grange Hall Road in Groveland Township said Vore and Morgan had sold her 34 converters during the past 6-8 weeks. She said they had told her Morgan’s brother owned a repo business and they cut off converters and straight-piped the vehicles.