Police Raid ‘Chop Shop’ in Sepulveda

The closing of what police said was a Sepulveda auto “chop shop,” where stolen cars are stripped of parts and other cars assembled with stolen parts, should have a significant impact on the San Fernando Valley’s auto theft problem, authorities said Friday.

Los Angeles police raided two phony auto body shops located side by side in the 7600 block of Sepulveda Boulevard and recovered two stolen Jeeps and nine more vehicles and assorted car parts believed stolen but for which ownership was still being traced, Lt. Greg Vasquez said.

Detectives detained three men at the scene but did not arrest them. While the detectives began searching the shops, one of the men complained of chest pains and was transported to a nearby hospital to be treated. Police declined to name the three men, and Vasquez said arrests are pending after the investigation is completed.

“We’ve got a myriad of evidence we are going through,” Vasquez said. “We will file for arrest warrants as we conduct our follow-up investigation.”

Vasquez said the two shops, Dr. Kayron’s Auto Body Clinic and B&S; Bodyworks, had been operating for a year in Sepulveda but took in no work. He said the businesses were actually a front for a large-scale chop shop. He said the finished cars may have been sold to unsuspecting car buyers.

Police could not put a number on how many stolen cars moved through the shop, but Vasquez called it a major operation that could have been in existence for as long as five years in other parts of the Valley.

“Auto theft in the Valley is a big problem,” Vasquez said. “I think this case will have a significant impact on it.”

Earlier this year, police said auto thefts in the Valley--an average of 54 a day--were a main reason for a growing crime rate in the area.

Vasquez said the investigation of the shops began two months ago when detectives followed the trail of a wrecked 1987 Jeep which was sold by a Wilmington junk yard to one of the shops.

He said investigators believe the vehicle identification number was taken off the wrecked Jeep and transferred to an identical model that had been stolen. The second vehicle was one of the two Jeeps recovered Friday.