Talesa Alexander started her Ford Explorer one February morning and knew immediately something was wrong.
Her usually quiet car roared so loudly she thought her entire apartment complex must have heard it. When she hit the gas pedal, it grew even louder.
Alexander took her car to the shop and discovered she was right. Overnight, a thief had swiped the car's catalytic converter from the parking lot of her Valley Ranch apartment in Irving.
"I had never even heard of a catalytic converter," she said. "And now I have $1,500 in repairs."
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Alexander is far from alone.
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