Police recover $1,000s in stolen cars, items at Fort Worth ‘chop house’; suspects wanted
Police are looking for two suspects believed to be connected with the theft of thousands of dollars worth of vehicles, tools and construction equipment recently recovered at a northwest Fort Worth “chop house,” officials said.
A concerned resident told police the night of Jan. 28 that a man had just jumped a fence and entered his neighbor’s yard. Officers located the suspect and his brother, who was two blocks away. Both men were arrested on outstanding traffic ticket warrants, but later released after seeing a judge, according to police.
Investigators learned the men were driving a stolen vehicle which contained copper reportedly stolen from AT&T, Fort Worth police said Tuesday in a news release. Officers found evidence in the vehicle confirming the men’s identity and their address.
On Feb. 6 detectives executed a search warrant at that address, located in the 2800 block of N.W. 28th Street, to look for more stolen items, the release said.
Detectives couldn’t find the suspects, but they recovered multiple vehicles, stolen tools and construction equipment, brand new rims and tires, a car hauler, a mechanical bull and miscellaneous items worth thousands of dollars, according to the release. The location was being used as a “chop shop,” or a place where stolen vehicles are disassembled so their parts can be resold.
Tarrant County Sheriff’s Department Regional Auto Crimes Unit officers assisted with identifying and recovering the stolen vehicles. Fifteen of them have been identified so far, including motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, cars and trucks, officials said. Other vehicles haven’t been identified because their Vehicle Identification Number was removed, but police believe they are stolen as well.
People from Fort Worth, Roanoke, Carrollton, Tarrant County College and states as far away as Mississippi were affected by the thefts, officials said. The suspects are still at large.
