North Hills ‘Chop Shop’ Is Clipped From Above

David McFarland of North Hills met up with an old acquaintance Thursday, but probably did not enjoy the reunion.

The encounter took place after two tree trimmers became suspicious when they discovered more motorcycles than branches at a North Hills house Wednesday.

The workers were trimming trees near a power line when they caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a sea of Japanese sport bikes packed into the back yard of a house in the 16000 block of Stare Street, said Detective Bob Graybill of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Auto Theft Task Force.

The tree trimmers copied the license number of one of the bikes and passed it on to detectives, who determined that the vehicle had been reported stolen earlier in the month from the UCLA campus.

Seeking more information Thursday, a Los Angeles police detective knocked on the door of the house and was greeted by McFarland, 23, Graybill said.

“I remember you,” police quoted McFarland as saying. “You arrested me before.”

Perhaps with a certain sense of deja vu, the detective did so again after discovering 11 stolen motorcycles at the house, Graybill said.

Eight of the bikes had been dismantled. Detectives believe McFarland was stripping the bikes and then selling the parts, Graybill said.

An additional 25 bikes, many of which had been stripped, were also found, Graybill said. Authorities were determining Friday if those bikes also were stolen, he said.

McFarland was arrested on suspicion of grand theft motorcycle and receiving stolen property, Graybill said.

It was the fourth motorcycle “chop shop” discovered in the San Fernando Valley in 18 months, Graybill said.