ST. LOUIS — An East St. Louis man will be spending the next nine months in prison and paying his victims over $46,000 for a series of thefts. Matthew Jennings, 31, was sentenced for stealing 39 catalytic converters from vehicles across the St. Louis area.

The Department of Justice says that Jennings worked with D’Ante Carter, 38, who acted as a lookout while he used a saw to cut the converters out of the vehicles. The crimes started in December 2019 and the two hit trucks and vans parked at businesses and an organization that helps those with disabilities.

The catalytic converters contain a trace amount of precious metals. The men would sell the devices to a recycling company in Illinois.

Carter was sentenced to nine months in prison in September. He pled guilty to a charge of conspiracy to transport and sell stolen goods. Jennings pled guilty to the same charge in November.