Rocky River and Cleveland Police have broken up what appears to be a major stolen car chop shop operation involving classic muscle cars and other vehicles stripped down and prepared to be sold part by part it's a shame that there's people out there that would do this and disrespect other people's property and cut up a classic car news 5's Joe pagakis tells us the alleged car theft ring involves multiple suspects and some solid detective work by Rocky River Police and invest tigators from the Wes
t Shore enforcement Bureau it's been the pride and joy of the conridge family from Fair viiew Park 1966 uh convertible 396 Super Sport it's a limited edition classic Chevy Impala we've had it almost 24 years it's kind of a a a a family thing everybody's gotten enjoyment out of it but on November 26th Rocky River Police say this surveillance video shows the Classic Family convertible and a 1970 Pontiac GTO being driven Away by thieves taken from a storage facility here at Center Ridge and lyen ro
ads I had to back up and look at it again and uh boy was it a kick in the gut I think a crime like this it was not expected that we'd get them back Rocky River Detective Mike ashberry was assigned to the case and less than 3 weeks later with the help of Cleveland Police and the West Shore enforcement Bureau Tracked Down The Stolen Impala and GTO to a home on West 31st Street in Cleveland what they found was the GTO cut up in dozens of pieces ENT you had a full out uh fully functional Chop Shop u
h one of the garages uh was modified and altered to have a higher roof inside of it to allow for what appeared to be engine hoist the GTO was chopped down to the body panels the rear end was cut off at the frame and the High Performance Engine was on a wheeled crate ready to be shipped out police also found several other vehicles in various states of disassembly which could help them solve other car theft cases we're hoping that maybe we can compare uh part numbers serial numbers things like tha
t fortunately for conridge his 1966 impella was still in one piece untouched so I think it was cool it was cool to give him his car back I feel bad for the owner of the Pontiac we a few days too late but uh we got one of them back and I'm glad we can get it back to him him and his family conri says great police work is sending a strong message to would be car thieves my thing is don't come to Rocky River to steal your cars anymore because uh these guys know what they're doing here and Rocky Rive
r Police say an arrest warrant has been issued for the lead suspect in this case who still has not turned himself in other potential suspects in the investigation have been sent to a kyogo county grand jury for potential charges you know News 5 will follow through on this developing story reporting right here at Rocky River Police headquarters I'm news5 investigator Joe pagonakis wow so Rocky River Police warn to use caution if you're looking to buy used car parts on eBay Craigslist and other On
line Marketplace if it turns out the parts purchased were stolen you may have to give those items back or you could be charged with receiving property if it can be proven you should have known those parts were on the black market
Comments
I like how the news reporter didn't give the name or a picture of the guy the police have a warrant out for. The thieves have more protection then we do.
Inside job at the storage facility. GTO owner should be allowed to take the criminals property. Car, house, etc...
GPS tracker, takes YOU right to it, YOU can deal with the creeps YOURSELF,..................NO cops needed
Why weren’t those responsible identified? We got the what, when, where, and how, but no who.
I've had my 69 GTO since I was 15. That is 41 years. If someone stole it and cut it up I would probably do something that would get me in serious trouble. But I would make sure the thieves never stole anything again.
Most classic cars arnt just property. They were biult by hand the owner probably spent thousands of hours restoring it. Saying that a classic car is just property is a giant understatement.
Hey newsnet5, how about naming the suspects. how about listing the address where this chop shop was located?
Makes me want to scream knowing that these cars aren't made anymore, and these ass clowns are chopping them up thinking to make a buck, and now, those cars are going to be either crushed, or if the owner is filthy rich, it might get a rebuild. Insurance companies hate to give buyback options, and they don't see old cars as valuable. It has to be professionally appraised for them to want to work with the owner about putting it back together. I don't even know if there's enough of that GTO left to put it back together. Sad day for that car.
Thiefs are the worst. They take more than just your property.
Been involved in classics for over 40 years. The amount of crap work, parts swapping, delay and outright thievery is epidemic.
If I had a classic car I'd hide Apple Air Tags all over it.
I'm a 21 year old from Germany who's been all over american classics eversince I was 10. I'm also a huge Pontiac fan. What happened to the '70 GTO hurts just to look at and I can't imagine the pain the owner is going through. If someone cut up my '88 Firebird they'd find themselves in a SAW movie if I ever caught them...
Show the suspect!
That is terrible. They should be in prison for life. They do not need to never be released, Never!!!
And the perpetrators are not even afraid of prison. You know what happens when you steal John Wick's car?
It’s definitely somebody that works at the garage or knows somebody that works at the parking garage that stole them
that theft is an inside job, give me a break. The folks at the storage site are up to their eyes in this. Disgusting. Unfortunately the warning about buying these parts and having to return them is bunk. In many states, if you were not aware they were stolen, you get to keep them... Sucks, but true.
Really sad, I can’t imagine the pain of those memories
I had my car stolen in 2012 and I'm still waiting to hear from law enforcement. Glad this guy got his pride and joy back, makes me think i still have a chance to get mine back one day.
Dr. Jill's "breakfast tacos" keep trying to steal my truck.