Local man accused of running chop shop

MIDDLETOWN — A city resident charged Wednesday with offenses that include operating a chop shop and vehicle theft says he bought a vehicle on Facebook in what he understood to be a legitimate transaction.

Devin J. Roberts, 27, is charged with illegal operation of a chop shop, larceny of a motor vehicle and second-degree criminal trover, according to Sgt. Elias Martz, supervisor of the Police Department’s records bureau.

Criminal trover means using someone else’s property without permission and damaging it or diminishing its value in the process.

Roberts is free on a $25,000 bond and is due at state Superior Court in Middletown March 5, Martz said.

Martz said Thursday that no report detailing the circumstances of the arrest was available yet. The Old Saybrook Police Department also was involved in the investigation. But the arrest log, which is updated daily on that department’s website, shows no arrest of Roberts.

Roberts said via phone Thursday that he owns a car dealership and bought a vehicle on Facebook. He said the transaction was supposed to be a “lien payoff,” in which he would pay the amount of any lien on the vehicle.

He said all three of the charges he is facing are based on that transaction.

“Apparently, I’m running a chop shop,” he said. “That’s news to me.”

He said Old Saybrook police were involved because the vehicle allegedly had been stolen in that town.

Roberts said he does welding, and said police took all the welding tools that were in his garage.

Martz said documents related to any search warrant would not be available from police until the court case is over. An official in the Middletown court said no documents related to the search warrant were available there yet.

Thefts of vehicles have been increasing in Connecticut in recent years and have been a growing subject of public concern.

Under state law, illegal operation of a chop shop carries up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, larceny of a motor vehicle carries up to three years in prison and a $3,500 fine and second-degree criminal trover carries up to one year in prison and a $2,000 fine. The chop shop law also permits a judge to order restitution to the owner of the vehicle or parts involved or to any insurer that already has compensated the owner.