MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Police say they shut down a chop shop after finding numerous vehicles in various stages of disrepair at a house in Frayser Thursday afternoon.
Neighbors said they watched as officers removed vehicle part after vehicle part from the fenced-in backyard of the home at the corner of Lookout Drive and Signal Street.
The man who lives there, 24-year-old Marquavious Garner, was arrested and charged with theft of property and violating the chop shop law.
Police said they executed a search warrant at the property and found a stripped 2017 GMC Yukon stolen out of the Nashville area and a stripped 2016 Nissan Maxima reported stolen in Memphis.
Investigators said they also found stripped vehicle doors, trunk lids, hoods, engine parts, screws, nuts, and bolts all over the backyard.
Friday, there were a couple of cars in that backyard that appeared to be stripped and vehicle bumpers in the driveway.
Neighbors said they had seen the man who lives in the house selling cars on the weekends but had no idea he was running the chop shop.
Police said Garner admitted to stealing the Yukon in Smyrna and said he was stripping the Maxima of its parts and the transmission.
Garner was released from jail on a $10,000 bond. He is scheduled to make an appearance in court on September 16.