Alleged BMW ‘Chop Shop’ Closed, Used-Car Dealer Held

A Tujunga used-car dealership was shut down and its owner arrested after Los Angeles police discovered it was a “chop shop” for stolen BMWs, authorities said Friday.

The owner of the GBR Used Car Showroom, Bartigh Toroussian, 49, of Tujunga was arrested Thursday on suspicion of receiving stolen property and was being held at Van Nuys Jail in lieu of $10,000 bail, police said.

The state Department of Motor Vehicles closed the business because of irregularities found in the paperwork of five BMWs, which all had had their identification numbers altered or removed, Los Angeles Police Detective Robert Graybill said.

Police were tipped off about the dealership on 6915 Foothill Blvd., near Marcus Avenue, when they received signals from a LoJack electronic detection device embedded in a stolen BMW about 3 p.m. Thursday, police said. The LoJack transmitters are activated by an owner after a car is discovered stolen.

In this case, the car was stolen from West Los Angeles last weekend, but police received no signals from the LoJack device until Thursday, Graybill said. Patrol officers discovered the signal was emanating from the auto dealership and contacted the Valley Auto Theft Task Force.

When police raided the dealership, they found the 1991 BMW, valued at $30,000, and the five other cars, Graybill said. They also discovered an operation designed to receive stolen cars, quickly remove all identification numbers and then provide fake papers for them, Graybill said.

“This guy is really good--it’s a professional operation,” Graybill said. “He cuts whole sections out of the car and replaces them quickly. They can take a car and remove all of the ID numbers within a couple hours and then put it all together like new.”

This is not the first time the GBR Used Car Showroom has been investigated in connection with possible stolen cars, Graybill said. In February, detectives found two BMWs that were believed to be stolen. But because all of the identification numbers had been removed, police could not determine the vehicles’ original owners and did not pursue the case.

Toroussian would buy wrecked cars at salvage auctions for the documentation and then arrange for a car of the same make, model and year to be stolen, Graybill said.

“He gets the paperwork and then he fills the order with a similar car,” Graybill said. “The BMW paperwork is gold. He knows that people driving BMWs don’t get their paperwork checked as closely if they’re pulled over.”