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Andrews – A local man is accused of stealing vehicle parts off of work trucks in order to obtain a precious metal more valuable than gold.
Heath Darrell Pressley, 37, was arrested on Jan. 12, after law enforcement officials found nearly a dozen catalytic converters in the back of his truck.
“He’s hit several places,” Cherokee County sheriff’s Lt. Tiffany Holland said. “We’ve been trying to match the parts to the vehicles.”
Officials say video surveillance captured Pressley’s truck outside Nothing But Beds Mattress Outlet in White’s Plaza during the overnight hours of Jan. 11, when they believe catalytic converters were stolen off of a few delivery trucks. A deputy located Pressley’s truck parked on the side of Old Ranger Road in Murphy the following afternoon.
Officials say Pressley was standing near the truck with 10 catalytic converters in the back of the vehicle when they located it. They believe Pressley stole the parts off of several vehicles parked at various area businesses at different times.
Officials suspect Pressley steals the exhaust-control devices to sell the palladium contained inside them. In February 2019, the Wall Street Journal reported that palladium was more valuable than gold.