Campus Alert Archive
SRU

Six Reports in Two Weeks: A Catalytic Converter Wave Hits Slippery Rock's Stadium Lots

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PAtheftadvisorymedium confidence
Under Investigation

Slippery Rock University's Police Blotter logged six catalytic converter theft reports between September 15 and September 27, 2024, clustered in the Alumni Pavilion, Lower Stadium, and Upper Stadium parking lots. University Police identified at least one suspect through License Plate Recognition data shared with Butler and Allegheny County systems and were awaiting search warrants as of mid-October 2024.

Alerts
1
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania
Public Masters · PA
~8,500 studentsSRU Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

1 message in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

FOLLOW-UPWebsite
Approximate reconstructionThe Rocket (Slippery Rock University student newspaper), summarizing University Police Blotter entries557 chars
University Police Blotter: Theft of Catalytic Converter. Multiple thefts of catalytic converters have been reported to Slippery Rock University Police in recent weeks, including incidents in the Alumni Pavilion Open Parking lot, Lower Stadium Lot A, Lower Stadium Lot B, and Upper Stadium Lot. At least one suspect has been identified through License Plate Recognition technology shared with Butler and Allegheny County law enforcement. University Police continue to investigate and are working with other agencies experiencing similar thefts in the region.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

This is reconstructed from The Rocket's summary of six University Police Blotter entries logged between September 22 and September 27, 2024, describing thefts that occurred between September 15 and September 27; the university does not appear to publish a single standalone Timely Warning text for this cluster, only individual blotter line items
License Plate Recognition (LPR) data, shared across Butler and Allegheny County systems, was the investigative lead that identified at least one suspect, illustrating how regional LPR networks increasingly support campus property-crime investigations
Slippery Rock experienced a comparable catalytic converter theft spree in January 2022, when Butler County authorities charged a single suspect, Chad Trimbur, with four felony theft counts and other charges spanning multiple counties, suggesting this is a recurring regional pattern rather than isolated campus incidents
Context

Background

Slippery Rock University, a public regional university in Butler County, Pennsylvania, logs individual crime reports in an online University Police Blotter rather than issuing a single alert for every property crime. In October 2024, The Rocket, the university's student newspaper, reported that six mentions of catalytic converter thefts had appeared in the blotter since September 15, concentrated in the Alumni Pavilion and stadium-area parking lots and with five of the six reports logged within a single 48-hour window on September 22 and 23. University Police told the paper that License Plate Recognition data shared with neighboring county systems had identified at least one suspect. The pattern echoed a January 2022 case reported by the Butler Eagle, in which a Pittsburgh man, Chad Trimbur, was arrested and charged with four felony theft counts, felony possession of stolen property, and other offenses after a multi-county catalytic converter theft spree that investigators tied to scrap-metal sales at a local recycler.
Analysis

Key Findings

Five of six blotter-logged thefts were reported within a single 48-hour window (September 22-23, 2024), even though the underlying thefts were spread across nearly two weeks, showing a lag between when converters are cut and when victims discover and report the crime
The thefts clustered specifically in Alumni Pavilion and stadium-area lots rather than residence-hall parking, suggesting thieves targeted less-trafficked lots away from dormitory security patrols
Regional License Plate Recognition data sharing across county lines, not on-campus patrol alone, was the investigative tool that identified a suspect
A nearly identical spree in the same area in January 2022 ended in felony charges for a single prolific offender, suggesting catalytic converter theft near Slippery Rock may follow a boom-and-bust pattern tied to individual repeat offenders rather than an organized ring
Outcome
At least one suspect was identified via License Plate Recognition data as of mid-October 2024 reporting; no arrest had been publicly confirmed at that time. A similar spree in January 2022 in the same area ended with a single suspect, Chad Trimbur, facing four felony theft counts and other charges across multiple counties.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Student Paper
    String of catalytic converters thefts target vehicles on campus (The Rocket)
    theonlinerocket.com
    archived copy
  2. News
    Man accused in multi-county string of thefts (Butler Eagle)
    butlereagle.com
    archived copy
Cite this case

Campus Alert Archive. "Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania: Six Reports in Two Weeks: A Catalytic Converter Wave Hits Slippery Rock's Stadium Lots." Incident of September 15, 2024. Added July 2026. https://campusalertarchive.com/case/slippery-rock-university-catalytic-converter-thefts-2024-09-15/

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Alert text quoted on this page remains the work of the issuing institution; the archive is a secondary source.

Tags
theftcatalytic-converterpublic-masterspennsylvanialicense-plate-recognitionstadium-parking2024Under Investigation
Added July 2026Updated July 2026Via ingestion