Suncoast: Tip leads to the arrest of two catalytic converter thieves – Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office
Francesco Abbruzzino, The Uncensored Report, LLC
CCSO
On September 7, 2021, CCSO responded to a business in Port Charlotte in reference to a catalytic converter being illegally removed from the company work vehicle.
Detectives processed the scene, locating a women’s sandal and footprints left behind. Security camera footage showed that, on the evening of September 3 (after the business had closed), two suspects, one male and one female, entered the fenced-in yard where the work vehicle was parked.
The male suspect, later identified as Clinton Todd Dorkin (6/24/1970) is seen wearing blue jeans, a blue shirt, and white shoes. The female suspect, identified as Amber Carlini (2/29/1984), is seen wearing a red dress – which did not cover her visible tattoos on her leg and chest – and carrying a pair of sandals. The female also has a large bag with a shoulder strap.
In the video, the suspects are seen approaching and walking around the vehicle. They are later seen walking away from the vehicle, at which time the male hands the female an object that she puts into the bag. The male is seen carrying another object that is consistent with the size and shape of a catalytic converter.
Thanks to a tip CCSO received, Clinton Dorkin was developed as a person of interest. As the investigation continued, a search warrant was obtained for Dorkin’s home in North Port. In the bedroom of this house was a freshly cut catalytic converter, with the identifying numbers sanded down for easier reading. Detectives learned that this makes it easier to determine the value of the converter through a recycler.
Detectives discovered that Dorkin had been arrested in Lake City, FL on September 19 for unrelated charges. The vehicle he was driving at the time of his arrest matched the description CCSO deputies had of a van involved in another catalytic converter theft in Charlotte County. A search warrant was issued for the van, and inside deputies located two lithium battery-powered reciprocating saws, multiple used sawblades, a blue t-shirt consistent with the one the suspect was wearing in the video, a scrap yard transaction form, and a W-2 in the name of Amber Carlini.
The shoes Dorkin was wearing at the time of his arrest matched the size and pattern found at the scene.
Amber Carlini was arrested after she was identified as the passenger in a motor vehicle stop on September 25.
Dorkin is currently in the Columbia County Jail.
Original Facebook video post.