Fairbury Man Sent to Prison for Stealing 34 Catalytic Converters

A Fairbury man was sentenced to prison in Gage County District Court for the theft of catalytic converters.Nicholas S. Fentress, age 28, pleaded guilty to burglary, a class 2A felony. He also pleaded guilty to two counts of theft with a value between $1,500 and $5,000 and one count of possession of a controlled substance, all class 4 felonies, and possession of drug paraphernalia, an infraction.According to the Probable Cause for Warrantless Arrest affidavit in the court file, on August 24, 2021 at approximately 2:00 p.m., the Beatrice Police department received a report of theft from Jet Racing, an automotive parts store, “The reporting party stated a catalytic converter belonging to a 2007 Buick Rendezvous, and two 14” Arrow racing wheels and rims were taking (sic) out of a bed of a truck that was parked in the business lot.”Law enforcement reviewed surveillance video of the scene and the officer that filled out the affidavit wrote, “I spoke with Beatrice Scrap and the owner knew immediately who brought in a converter by the vehicle description seen on video. Employees identified the male as Nicholas Fentress and advised the converter was from a GM model and more than likely came from the Buick Rendezvous reported by the victim. The value of the wheels and rims were $135.00. A body shop estimate for the converter replacement and repairs was $1,719.85.”On September 7, 2021 at 9:47 a.m., the Beatrice Police Department received a report of two pickup trucks in the 400 block of Scott Street, belonging to Beatrice Concrete had missing converters. The alleged victim also reported that the gas tank on one of the trucks also had holes drilled into it.According to the officer, “On September 8, 2021 I followed up with Beatrice Scrap and inquired on recent sales by Fentress. Employees advised that on September 7, 2021, Fentress was in possession and sold a catalytic converter. Employees also advised that the converter belonged to a GM vehicle and was larger in size, indicating that it belonged to a truck. I seized the converter that Fentress brought in that Beatrice Scrap was still in possession of. The converter was then taken to the victim pickup truck, the cuts and wear on the vehicle parts matched. Officers seized additional piping for evidence. A body shop estimate showed the damages and replacement value of the pickup truck were $2,994.91.”On September 9, 2021, Fentress was interviewed by law enforcement and then arrested that same day.The affidavit notes, “From July 6 to September 7, 2021, Fentress has had approximately 34 catalytic converters in his possession that he has sold to Beatrice Scrap for a profit of $6,370.70. An estimate value for replacement and repairs on 34 catalytic converters is approximately $57,800.”An inventory of the defendant's truck was conducted at the time of his arrest and law enforcement reported finding inside a black box located underneath the back passenger seat. Inside of the box was a scale, used and clean hypodermic needles, a pop bottle lid and two baggies with white residue. The residue field tested positive for methamphetamine.Fentress had been allowed to enter Drug Court, a specialized court docket programs intended to help defendants who have alcohol or drug dependency issues. Fentress was terminated on May 1 of this year for violating terms of the program.The presiding judge, Rick Schreiner, sentenced Fentress to four-to-six years in prison for burglary and two years for each of the other charges.

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