Missouri woman admits to role in conspiracy to transport stolen catalytic converters across state lines

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KCTV) - A Missouri woman has pleaded guilty, admitting her role in a conspiracy to transport tens of thousands of stolen catalytic converters across state lines as part of a multimillion-dollar business.

Danielle Ice, a 34-year-old from Columbia and a former Springfield resident, pleaded guilty in federal court to participating in a conspiracy to transport stolen property across state lines.

She is one of seven other defendants who have pleaded guilty in this case, which comes following an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations and law enforcement partners. Ice’s husband, Leslie Ice, is one of those co-defendants.

By pleading guilty, she admitted that she and her husband took at least 50 catalytic converters and sold them to another co-defendant named Evan Marshall. Marshall paid the Ices about $20,000 for stolen catalytic converters.

The Ices started stealing catalytic converters for Marshall in October of 2020 and continued through at least March 2021. Marshall gave Leslie Ice a list of certain vehicle makes, models, and years that had valuable catalytic converters so he could target them.

The Ices would take pictures of the catalytic converters while they were still on the victims’ vehicles. They would then text the pictures to Marshall, who would determine if it was valuable or not. Apparently, if it was, they would cut it off with a battery-powered reciprocating saw.

Leslie Ice was detained in a state criminal case in January of 2021. However, Marshall gave Danielle Ice about $1,500 in cash to be used as bond money so that Leslie Ice could be released, continue stealing catalytic converts, and sell them to Marshall.

Marshall admitted that he transported stolen catalytic converters worth $1 million or more across state lines from Dec. 2019 to Oct. 2021. He admitted to buying tens of thousands of them from the various co-defendants, as well as another thieves, then selling them for a total of about $1 million.

Under federal statutes, Danielle Ice is subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole. However, sentencing will be determined by the court based on both advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing will be scheduled after The U.S. Probation Office finishes a presentence investigation.

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