Suspected chop shop busted near Lithonia

LITHIONIA, Ga. - The DeKalb County Police Department has recovered multiple vehicles which investigators say were part of a likely chop shop operation.

Investigators were looking into an ongoing theft case when they made the discovery at a location along Rock Chapel Road in Lithonia.

The cars were found in various stages of disassembly last week.

"A subject, who was identified as being the business owner, came out. A detective started speaking with him about the vehicles and the conditions that they were in," said DeKalb County Police Sgt. J. Stahl.

Two of the vehicles were reported stolen out of DeKalb County, one was from Atlanta Police’s jurisdiction, and another from Florida.

"The chopping of vehicles is basically stripping a vehicle of its parts, also obliterating any kind of vehicle identification numbers, and replacing them with fraudulent vehicle identification numbers, to then sell the vehicles to unsuspecting persons," said Sgt. Stahl

And the agency has a message for anyone looking to sell their car.

"Definitely online purchases, using Facebook Marketplace, things of that nature. I would definitely verify any vehicle information with local law enforcement before you purchase," said Sgt. Stahl.

Police also warn people to not leave their keys in the car.