WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. — A West Memphis man is facing a serious charge after he allegedly dismantled stolen cars at his house.
Police say David Kelley ran a chop shop out of his home on Richland Drive. Neighbors say vehicles filtered through his house for a year.
The 45-year-old was finally caught after a routine traffic stop. Police pulled him over because the license plate on his truck was partially covered.
Investigators say several car doors were piled in the back, so police ran the vin numbers and discovered one of the doors belonged to a stolen vehicle out of Memphis.
Officers raided Kelley’s house later that day and they found a number of other car parts, including the front doors, hood and side panels to a stolen Cadillac Escalade.
WREG spoke with a woman who says cars at Kelley’s house were constantly being worked on.
“I just figured maybe it was a mechanic that didn’t have a shop and wanted to just work out of home,” she said.
But that would have violated city code, which is why other neighbors say they complained about the activity for months. Police say they don’t have any complaints on record, though.
Kelley was arrested and charged with receiving stolen items. Police say his landlord evicted him when officers told her what was going on.