Chevrolet Dealer’s License Suspended

Department of Motor Vehicles has suspended the operating license of Brett Mitchell Chevrolet for 30 days for allegedly failing to pay registration fees and $4,440 worth of subsequent fines on new-car sales, a DMV spokesman said Wednesday.

The charges involve the sale of at least 143 cars between March and November, DMV spokesman William Gengler said.

A hearing on the 30-day suspension, which was dated Dec. 22, has been set for Jan. 6 before an administrative law judge in Los Angeles. Dealer Mitchell will be given an opportunity at that time to tell the state how he plans to pay the late fees and fines, Gengler said.

Mitchell at first denied Wednesday that his firm’s operating license had been suspended, then said the suspension only would be in effect until the hearing. He declined to comment further.

Mitchell is one of several auto dealers recruited by the city for the Compton Auto Plaza, which was developed alongside the Artesia Freeway by the city’s redevelopment agency. He was honored earlier this year by the Small Business Administration as “Young Entrepreneur of the Year.”