Two people were arrested after a man’s alleged attempt to steal a catalytic converter from a church bus was thwarted in Pomona Sunday night, police said.
Officers were called out to a potential catalytic converter theft in progress in the area of San Antonio and San Bernardino avenues around 9:40 p.m., according to a Pomona Police Department news release.
When they arrived, a neighbor alerted them to a man who was under a church bus that was parked near an occupied black SUV.
While police investigated, a man emerged from beneath the bus and tried to evade the officers, ignoring their commands, the release stated. He hid in bushes where he was captured minutes later.
Police found “cutting tools under the church bus consistent with catalytic converter theft,” the release read.
They arrested the man, identified as 34-year-old Luis Flores of Pomona, on suspicion of attempted catalytic converter theft, fleeing from police and public intoxication.
Flores was linked to the nearby black SUV, where the occupant — 23-year-old Yesenia Huizarreyna of Pomona — was arrested on suspicion of possessing an open alcoholic container.
Authorities did not release booking photos of Flores or Huizarreyna.
The incident remains under investigation, and anyone with information is urged to call Pomona police at 909-620-2085 or leave an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers by dialing 1-800-222-8477.