'Chop Shop' For Stolen Vehicles Busted By Sheriff's Office

ALAMEDA COUNTY, CA — Four suspects were arrested on multiple felony charges, including one for murder, on Friday when a "chop shop" was raided in Oakland, according to the Alameda County Sheriff's Office.

Chop shops are places where stolen vehicles are disassembled, or chopped up, to sell the parts or use them to repair other stolen vehicles.

The Sheriff's Office executed a search warrant in the 800 block of 100th Avenue in Oakland as part of a continuing auto theft and chop shop investigation, targeting organized criminal activity in Alameda County.

Deputies recovered eight stolen vehicles, including a gasoline tanker semi-truck.

Deputies also seized stolen license plates, burglary tools, a large quantity of ammunition, two sets of body armor, and a gun.

One stolen vehicle was illegally outfitted with red and blue police lights.

The investigation involved detectives from the Eden Township Substation, the Alameda County Auto Theft Task Force, and the Sheriff's Special Response Unit.

The Sheriff's Office Behavioral Health Unit counselors connected several people not arrested at the scene to critical county services.