A man is facing 35 years in prison for his role in a catalytic converter theft ring in Grapevine.
Jaylin Jessie, 27, was sentenced to 35 years in prison for engaging in organized criminal activity, the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office announced November 4. The Grapevine Police Department applauded the “great work from our detectives” on November 21.
Jessie was one of the first in Texas to be sentenced under a 2023 law that made catalytic converter theft a felony.
“The reason the sentence was so severe is because he was a repeat offender and because he robbed one of the victims at gunpoint,” said Grapevine Police Media Manager Katharina Gamboa to The Dallas Express.
Grapevine officers arrested Jessie in December 2024, according to Gamboa. The department had taken eight reports of catalytic converter thefts at that time.
“After the first few instances, [a] witness provided a description of the suspects and a vehicle description,” Gamboa said. “A couple of days later, our detectives were able to get the license plate of the vehicle from a security camera and trace it to the owner.”
The owner runs a private car rental business, and had live tracking enabled on the vehicle, she said. The Grapevine detective looped in officers with the Roanoke Police Department.
“With the assistance of the live tracking, our detective was able to locate the suspects, seemingly about to act again,” Gamboa told DX. “The chain of events that unfolded all happened consecutively from there, very quickly.”
The detective did not expect the “rapid chain reaction” that soon followed, according to a press release from the Grapevine Police Department. The suspects fled the scene, launching a high-speed pursuit. Police from Haltom City, Bedford, and Arlington gradually joined in.
Meanwhile, the detective was on the phone, listening to the scene unfold, according to the release. One officer crashed his vehicle.
“I’m okay, I’m okay,” the detective heard through the line.
After a foot pursuit, Grapevine police eventually captured three suspects, according to the release. Jessie’s case went to trial with help from the Hutchins Police Department.
The other two suspects were still awaiting trial, according to Gamboa.
“Since their trial has yet to happen, I am not at liberty to discuss many further details other than what is publicly available from Jessie’s trial,” she said.
Dallas residents recently expressed concerns about vehicle thefts and slow response times from the Dallas Police Department, as DX reported.
An FBI official told The Dallas Express in 2023 that the agency considered catalytic converter thefts to be an organized crime effort akin to that of South American criminal groups. That year, Addison officials took measures to counter a jump in these thefts. Gov. Greg Abbott also signed bills in 2021 and 2023 to crack down on these crimes.