MISSAUKEE COUNTY, MI – On November 22, 2021, a person contacted the Michigan State Police (MSP) Houghton Lake Post to report a catalytic converter theft from a property on W Kelly Road in Lake Township. The victim had parked a Cadillac Escalade that was for sale near the roadway. When he went there to start it and make sure the battery was charged, he noticed a loud noise coming from underneath the vehicle. That’s when he realized the catalytic converter had been stolen. There were no suspects at the time of the initial report.
Surveillance footage from nearby businesses were checked. Surveillance footage showed a man in the area on the evening of November 17th holding what appeared to be an illuminated cellular phone and a black bag. Another camera captured the man leaving the scene in a white sedan that was driving in the area while the man was on foot.
The trooper contacted local law enforcement partners to see if they had taken any recent reports of catalytic converters in the area. There had been none, but a Missaukee County Sheriff’s Deputy had stopped a vehicle in the area matching the description of the vehicle seen in the surveillance footage. The vehicle, a Chevrolet Malibu, was registered to a person in Cadillac. The passenger in the vehicle during the traffic stop was identified as 35-year-old Todd Aaron Baxter from Cadillac. A trooper from the MSP Cadillac Post and deputy from the Wexford County Sheriff’s Office also had investigated Baxter for catalytic converter thefts.
Baxter was now incarcerated in the Wexford County Jail for similar charges. Several search warrants were executed, surveillance footage reviewed, cellular phones seized, and footwear impressions from the scene in Missaukee County were compared to Baxter’s footwear at the jail.
A report was turned over to the Missaukee County Prosecutor’s Office and an arrest warrant was issued.
