Reseda : Auto Shop Owner Sentenced in Theft

The owner of a now-shuttered Reseda auto repair shop was sentenced Friday to 45 days on a Caltrans work crew after pleading no contest to theft in a case stemming from a state Bureau of Automotive Repair sting operation, City Atty. James Hahn announced.

Chung Gil Ryang, 52, who operated R S Auto Transmission at 7236 Reseda Blvd., was sentenced by Van Nuys Municipal Court Judge Alan Ellis after entering his plea on one count of theft.

Ellis also placed Ryang on two years’ summary probation and ordered him not to engage in an auto repair business without being properly licensed by the state, said Deputy City Atty. Don Cocek, who handled the case.

Charges were filed against Ryang and Humberto Martinez, 28, of Reseda, who managed the business, after undercover Bureau of Automotive Repair investigators posing as customers took transmissions to R S Auto Transmission for repairs on three separate occasions.

In each case, the investigators were charged for work that was not done or for parts that were not installed, Cocek said. The investigators paid $250, $329 and $291.50.

Complaints to the bureau prompted the investigation, according to Hahn.

Martinez failed to appear for his Dec. 19 arraignment in Van Nuys Municipal Court and is the subject of a $25,000 arrest warrant, Cocek said.