Accused of Selling Without License : DMV Arrests Car Dealer a 2nd Time

A Sepulveda car dealer, arrested in May on charges that he kept registration and license fees that were supposed to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles, was arrested again on Friday, this time for selling cars without a license, authorities said.

Jerry Johnson had lost his dealer’s license in April when, because of his problems with customers and the DMV, an insurance company canceled the $5,000 bond he needs to operate legally, investigators said.

At the time of his arrest on May 8, DMV investigators said, they warned Johnson he would be arrested if they learned he was still selling cars.

After making an undercover purchase of a car Friday at Johnson’s dealership at 8561 Sepulveda Blvd., the DMV charged him with dealing without a license. He was released on his own recognizance pending a preliminary hearing.

‘We Went After Him’

“We had heard from several people that he was still selling cars so we went after him,” said DMV investigator Phil Chlopek of the DMV’s Van Nuys office. “The undercover officer made contact with Jerry and Jerry tried to sell him a car.”

The May arrest led to the Sylmar resident being charged with six felony counts of embezzling public funds. The DMV alleged that, after telling buyers to give him registration and license fees so he could turn them over to the DMV, he kept the money. He also didn’t turn in the necessary paper work on cars, the DMV said. As a result, in the state’s eyes, people who bought cars from him did not legally own them.

Chlopek said Johnson has been free on $15,000 bail pending a trial on those charges. The investigator said each of the seven counts carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison. He said the unlicensed-dealing charge, a misdemeanor, carries a $500 fine or a maximum six months in jail.