Ruling May Cut Auto Theft Arrests : Crime: The court decision requiring warrants for searches of Valley wrecking yards will mean fewer cases will be solved, police say.

Police auto theft investigators predicted Thursday that more cases in the San Fernando Valley will go unsolved because of a federal court ruling this week outlawing spontaneous searches of wrecking yards and repair shops.

Officers assigned to the Valley’s Consolidated Effort to Combat Auto Theft, or CECAT, said the vehicle code section that allowed them to search wrecking yards and repair shops without a warrant was a crucial tool used to find stolen cars before they were dismantled and sold for parts.

In 1990, for example, more than two-thirds of the 339 arrests made by CECAT investigators stemmed from searches of dismantlers and garages, according to Detective Robert Graybill, head of the 12-man unit created in 1988.

The vehicle code section was declared unconstitutional Wednesday by a federal judge. The ruling means that investigators must now gather more evidence before they can search a yard or shop without the owner’s permission. Graybill speculated that the extra investigation time will cause far fewer cars to be recovered undamaged.

About 500 cars disappear each week from Valley streets, parking lots and driveways, according to police records. Most are eventually found, but usually have been stripped for parts, which can be sold piece by piece and are difficult to trace.

Used-parts dealers can make thousands of dollars by selling cars piecemeal, Graybill said. He said some illegal yards operate sophisticated networks that catalogue and seek out parts in highest demand.

Many dismantlers in the Valley said they were disappointed by the ruling, saying that police inspections helped reduce the number of dealers who buy stolen parts and sell them at cut-rate prices. And Harvey Sklar, former president of the Valley Auto Dismantlers Assn., encouraged others to continue to allow police to search their yards.

Graybill said investigators generally searched yards where suspicions had been raised by tips or police observation. For example, if neighbors reported several cars driving into a yard in the middle of the night, officers would go to the dealer the next morning and ask to look around. They would request receipts for any parts they found that were believed to have been stolen. If the owner was unable to produce a sales record, officers would search the yard further, looking for other parts or cars they believed were stolen.

“We were hitting the cause of the theft,” Graybill said.

Now, however, officers will need a search warrant before they can search any yard or shop without the owner’s permission. But to get a search warrant, officers must demonstrate that they have probable cause to believe a certain car is in a certain yard.

The procedure can take several days.

“In that time, your parts are already in another shop, stripped, primed and painted another color,” Graybill said.

Officers can still search a yard or garage with the owner’s permission, but Graybill said illegal dealers are unlikely to allow investigators to roam through their businesses.

The court ruling stemmed from a lawsuit filed by the owner of a Lynwood motorcycle repair shop, who complained that frequent searches by sheriff’s deputies violated his Fourth Amendment rights. Phillip Long successfully represented himself in the case in U.S. District Court.

But some auto dismantlers in the Valley complained Thursday that the ruling may actually hurt their businesses by allowing illegal yards to operate with impunity. They said inspections by police reduced the temptation for honest dealers to buy and sell stolen parts.

“It helps keep dishonest people out of the business,” said John Bodi, manager of Honda Only Auto Dismantling in Sun Valley. “I don’t need them. Life is hard enough as it is.”