[STOLEN] CHP Busts a Californian Chop Shop with $600K in Stolen Corvettes and Camaros

Five people have been arrested in California after police found a dozen stolen sports cars, including two C7 Corvettes, being taken apart at an alleged chop shop.

Besides a gray Stingray and a black Z06, both in desperate need of a wash job, by the way, authorities also discovered 10 sixth-generation Camaros, including a white coupe with its rear bumper, lights, and trunk already removed, as well as a neatly stored cache of stolen parts like doors and hoods and even an engine and transmission.

Officials with the San Joaquin County Auto Theft Task Force, which includes several agencies working together, say the recovered cars were valued at $600,000. They found the alleged chop shop as part of an on-going investigation into thefts of “high-end American-made sports cars.”

Two men, identified as James Phelan and Harley Davidson (yes, that’s what the report says), were arrested during the March 11 raid and charged with operating a chop shop.

Another man, Hamdy Naim Jamali, was taken into custody later that day, accused of selling parts and in possession of a key fobbing device when stopped. The next day, Lloyd Thomas Bernhard was nabbed on similar charges, and he also allegedly was in possession of “100 pills believed to be fentanyl.”

Also facing charges in connection with the case is Stephanie Celeste Tejada Otera, who along with the four other suspects were arraigned on March 15 on auto theft charges.

Here’s the post from the California Highway Patrol announcing the bust:

Source:
CarScoops.com

Related:
[VIDEO] Five Suspects Bail from a Stolen C7 Corvette But Can’t Hide from Police Chopper’s Night Vision Camera
[STOLEN] Carjacked C7 Corvette is Recovered and Thieves Arrested in Record Time
[STOLEN] Mississippi Police Recover a C7 Corvette Z06 Stolen in Texas

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