Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2005 | ||
Bad Links? | Chop shop raidedBy LEE WILLIAMS Behind a patch of overgrown weeds, up a steep hill, sits a brown warehouse off Highway 138 in Fayette County, near the Clayton County line. Fayette County Planning and Zoning officials say the structure located at 1660 Hwy. 138, S.W., Riverdale, is zoned R-40, which allows single-family residential homes with minimum one-acre lots. But law enforcement officials say the structure is not used to house families, but stolen automobile parts. Authorities received information that someone affiliated with the location toured roads looking for vehicles abandoned on the side of the road. Some of the owners likely ran out of gas or needed a minor repair and they went to get help. They came back and their car was gone, explained Charles Willey spokesman for the Georgia Department of Revenue. Using a tow truck, the employees of the facility allegedly hauled the vehicles back to the shop and stripped it for parts without the owners knowledge. Acting on that information, several agencies including the Georgia Department of Revenue Auto Crime/Title Fraud Unit, Atlanta Police Department, Fayette County Sheriffs Department, Clayton County Police Department, Fulton County Police Department, Union City Police Department and National Insurance Crime Bureau raided the structure July 27 and hauled away automobile parts allegedly used by the chop shop. We executed a search warrant at the location, Willey confirmed. The investigation is still ongoing. No arrests have been made. The property is owned by KSP Investments out of Duluth. The names of the renters were unavailable. The chop shop was being operated across from the Shenandoah Estates subdivision in Riverdale, with homes averaging in the low to mid $200s. Anyone with information about the chop shop is asked to notify the Georgia Department of Revenue, Willey said. Were always looking for information, not only on this, but any illegal activity or tax situation, Willey said. At the time of the raid, the renters were already under investigation for violating five county laws, Fayette County Chief Marshal Ed Collins said. The investigation began in April. The property is zoned for residential property, but it was being used as light-industrial, Collins said. Discarded automobile parts were visible Monday from the propertys winding driveway marked off by broken yellow crime scene tape. The thicket, however, hid the business from view. They were cited for operating a junk and salvage yard without a permit, zoning violations, having abandoned vehicles on the property and an outdoor storage violation, Collins said. Collins said his agency is not involved in the chop shop investigation. Arrests in the case could be forthcoming, officials said. |
|
Copyright 2005-Fayette Publishing, Inc. |