A Missouri woman has admitted in federal court to her role in a scheme to transport tens of thousands of stolen catalytic converters across state lines, into Mountain Home, as part of a multi-million-dollar business. According to the United State’s Attorney’s Office of the Western District of Missouri, 34-year-old Danielle Ice of Columbia, formerly of Springfield, pleaded guilty Tuesday before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to participating in a conspiracy to transport stolen property across state lines.
Ice was the last of seven defendants indicted by a federal grand jury in the case. With her guilty plea, she reportedly admitted she and her husband, 37-year-old Leslie Ice of Springfield, stole at least 50 catalytic converters and sold them directly to 24-year-old Evan Marshall of Rogersville. Marshall paid Danielle and Leslie Ice approximately $20,000 for stolen catalytic converters. Marshall and Leslie Ice have pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme
The U.S. Attorney alleges the Ices began stealing catalytic converters for Marshall in October 2020 and continued stealing catalytic converters, and selling them to Marshall, through at least March 2021. They photographed the victims’ catalytic converters while the catalytic converters were still attached to the victims’ vehicles and sent the photographs via SMS text message to Marshall. Marshall would then determine whether the victims’ catalytic converters were valuable. If Marshall responded that a catalytic converter was valuable, Leslie Ice removed the victim’s catalytic converter by cutting it from the victim’s vehicle’s exhaust system using a battery-powered reciprocating saw. Leslie and Danielle Ice then sold the stolen catalytic converter to Marshall.
Marshall provided Leslie Ice with a list of vehicles, by year, make and model, with valuable catalytic converters so that he could target specific vehicles from which to steal catalytic converters.
Marshall also gave Danielle Ice approximately $1,500 in cash in January 2021 so she could post Leslie Ice’s bond in a state criminal case in which he was being detained. Marshall provided Leslie Ice’s bond money so that he would be released from custody and could continue to steal catalytic converters and sell them to Marshall.
When Marshall entered his guilty plea two months ago, he admitted he transported stolen catalytic converters, valued at $1 million or more, across state lines from December 2019 to October 2021. Marshall also admitted that he bought tens of thousands of stolen catalytic converters directly from his co-defendants and from other thieves, and sold the stolen catalytic converters for a total of approximately $1 million.
Marshall began selling the catalytic converters to a company in Mountain Home in the fall of 2019. At that time, Marshall would purchase junk vehicles and sell the vehicles’ parts, including the catalytic converters.
In the late fall of 2019, the owners of the Mountain Home company asked Marshall if he would begin purchasing catalytic converters in southwest Missouri and sell to them exclusively.
Marshall agreed to do so; in return, they regularly provided Marshall with cash so that Marshall had the funds to purchase a higher volume of catalytic converters. They also provided Marshall with a list of valuable catalytic converters. By December 2019, Marshall had mostly ceased buying junk vehicles and scrapping them out for parts, and instead began purchasing already-detached catalytic converters from scrap yards and individual sellers.
By January 2020, the owners of the Mountain Home company were wiring Marshall hundreds of thousands of dollars on a monthly basis so that Marshall could purchase a higher volume of detached catalytic converters.
Other co-defendants, 31-year-old Cody Ryder, 29-year-old Enx Khoshaba and 37-year-old Eric Kaltenbach, all of Springfield, and 25-year-old Camren Joseph Davis of Rogersville also have pleaded guilty.
Under federal statutes, Danielle Ice is subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
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