Leonardsville Man Jacked Up, Allegedly Stealing Converters

A Leonardsville man is facing multiple charges, including grand larceny, after police say he was attempting to steal catalytic converters from vehicles.

On Saturday, December 4th Utica Police were called the the Dollar General located at 1700 Erie Street for a report of a "suspicious male underneath a vehicle." An investigator in the area arrive and found a man lying under a vehicle that was jacked up. The man had a sawzall-style power tool with him.

Utica Police say that the investigator then confronted the man and detained him. According to a post on the department's Facebook page,

"The Utica Police Department has been investigating numerous thefts of catalytic converters and has previously made several other arrests regarding these crimes.

Furthermore, this investigator was familiar with the male from a previous incident that she was investigating involving the thefts of converters and damage to several NYS Department of Transportation vehicles in February of 2021."

The man, identified as 37-year-old Brian Land of Leonardsville, was charged with Criminal Mischief in the 3rd degree and Grand Larceny in the 4th degree as a result of the February 2021 incident.

Brian Land Photo Credit: Utica Police 2021

Utica Police say that charges in the December 4th incident are still pending.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: This post is informational and is based largely on information received from the Utica Police Department. All persons arrested are innocent until proven guilty in court of law.]

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