$250,000 in Stolen Trucks, Auto Parts Seized in Redlands Raid

Three San Bernardino County men suspected of running a lucrative auto theft racket were in custody Thursday after investigators raided an old barn in Redlands and discovered nearly $250,000 in allegedly stolen trucks and auto parts.

California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Mezzano said Kenneth Levi Little, 36, Anthony Fontenot, 42, and Kenneth Wyatt, 26, were arrested on suspicion of stealing Toyota and Nissan trucks, taking them to the barn, stripping them and selling the parts to junkyards and automobile dealers throughout the Southland.

“These guys have been operating for at least a year. They were real organized and had set up a good network for selling their goods,” Mezzano said, adding that more arrests may be made.

Shortly after 8 p.m. Wednesday, eight CHP officers and six Ontario police officers raided the barn and discovered the allegedly stolen goods, which included 15 stripped trucks, a new 18-foot boat and hundreds of car parts and accessories, Mezzano said.

He said the barn had been converted into a “chop shop”--equipped with acetylene torches and saws used to tear the vehicles apart.

The barn, which is owned by Little, was separated into different storage areas, each of which was cluttered with engines, mufflers, car stereos, plushly upholstered car seats, power tools and tires, the officer said.

“When we raided the place (Little) was taking one of the trucks apart,” Mezzano said. “He was a bit surprised, to say the least. . . .”

The other two suspects had been arrested earlier, Mezzano said.

Fontenot, of Colton, was arrested by CHP officers at his home Monday, Mezzano said, adding that the officers discovered five stripped trucks and dozens of parts in the suspect’s back yard.

Information from that arrest led CHP officers to Wyatt, who was arrested at noon on Wednesday at a junkyard in Ontario, he said.

After that arrest, Mezzano said, the CHP and Ontario police collaborated to get a search warrant for the barn and raided it that evening.

The 14 officers spent seven hours clearing the goods from the property Wednesday night. They were busy taking inventory on Thursday and trying to locate the legitimate owners, Mezzano said.

He said the boat and one of the trucks are owned by a sheriff’s deputy in Nevada.

“(The suspects) even took the deputy’s emergency rescue equipment,” Mezzano said.

He said the suspects were being held in San Bernardino County Jail, pending their expected arraignments Monday.