LEESBURG, Florida—A former police car probably was not the best choice of transportation for a man accused of trying to saw a catalytic converter off a Ram pickup truck in the parking lot of Lake Square Mall Wednesday.
The victim left the mall after doing some shopping shortly after 5 p.m. and heard a cutting sound as she approached her truck, the arrest affidavit states. She walked up to the passenger side and found a man, later identified as Garrett Dalton Heiserman, 23, underneath her truck. She told Heiserman to stop and he crawled from underneath the truck holding a blue reciprocating saw. Heiserman was unsuccessful in removing either of the catalytic converters, but the passenger side catalytic converter did have saw marks, the arresting officer noted. The oxygen sensor’s wires were also damaged by the saw, and the victim’s boyfriend said it would be about $1,000 to repair. Catalytic converters are expensive to replace as well.
“A catalytic converter replacement can cost approximately $1,500,” said Carl Fowler, owner of The Car Doctor Automotive Specialist Inc., in Eustis.
The victim started to call police and attempted to take photos of Heiserman and his vehicle as he left the scene but after calling 9-1-1, she found that she did not have any photos, according to the affidavit. The victim told Leesburg Police Heiserman’s vehicle, a white Chevrolet Impala, with a spotlight and possibly a former patrol car, was familiar to her and she called her boyfriend who told her Heiserman’s name and said he lives just a few blocks from them in the Bassville Park area. LPD was able to lift several visible fingerprints from the truck.
The following day, the victim spotted Heiserman in the parking lot of a hotel near the Lake Square Mall and called police. LPD officers found the Impala with faded police markings and detained the driver. The victim identified Heiserman as the suspect and he was taken into custody. Heiserman was questioned by police and he admitted to attempting to steal the catalytic converter and/or the oxygen sensor.
Police turned the vehicle over to Heiserman’s girlfriend and the Department of Children and Families was called to conduct a separate investigation into possible drug use in front of juveniles, according to the affidavit. Police searched Heiserman’s hotel room and found the blue reciprocating saw, in addition to a small amount of methamphetamine and a digital scale. He was arrested for grand theft, possession of burglary tools, loitering and prowling, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was released Saturday on $5,500 bond.
Heiserman was arrested for domestic battery in April by Eustis Police Department after being accused of aggressively braking and knocking a woman from a vehicle, but that charge was dropped in June.
