A Duchesne County man’s crimes are drawing attention to a form of theft that the general public is vulnerable to. According to court documents, on March 1st, 61-year-old Marvin Lee Jones was observed on security camera at a vehicle repair shop located in Murray, Utah, cutting and removing the catalytic converters from nine vehicles. “The victim/shop owner stated each catalytic converter removed was from a Land Rover or Range Rover and totaled $5,000 dollars each, $45,000 dollars total. Jones’ white dodge truck was also seen on camera where the catalytic converters were placed in the bed of the truck and removed from the repair shop. On March 12th, Marvin Lee Jones returned to the same repair shop and again attempted to cut more catalytic converters. He was caught in the act and arrested. Post Miranda, Marvin admitted to his actions stating he was doing so to pay for a drug habit.” Though Jones’ public safety assessment report showed that he is at elevated risk of committing a violent crime, he had a pending charge at the time of the offense as well as prior felony convictions, he was released from custody on special conditions. Court documents show the most recent prior offense took place in Duchesne County in February. According to the probable cause statement, Jones was located on February 22nd in Fruitland asleep in a vehicle that was hooked up to a stolen car dolly that was towing a stolen 2010 Dodge 1500 pickup. A bag of Methamphetamine as well as a pipe were found in his vehicle among other paraphernalia. Jones was booked into Duchesne County Jail on drug and theft charges. The probable cause statement also shared that Marvin Jones “has been involved in several criminal incidents in Duchesne County” and that he already at that point in February had “ten involvements with the Duchesne County Sheriff’s Office for 2021…with a total of 85 involvements within the past years.” The public safety assessment report performed on February 22nd also recommended him for release. That was exactly one week before his 1st visit to the Murray vehicle repair shop where he allegedly stole 9 catalytic converters.
