Dec
20
After a three-month multiagency undercover investigation into alleged motorcycle theft rings, three men accused of orchestrating the operations have been charged with more than 30 counts each, while six other men were also charged with their alleged involvement.
Some of the stolen motorcycles were displayed at a news conference on Dec. 18, 2013. (Credit: KTLA)
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office on Friday announced that charges had been filed against Felipe Galicia, 40, of Monrovia, Daniel Hernandez, 21, of El Monte, and Victor Manuel Coca, 45, of Los Angeles.
Galicia was the alleged mastermind who, with Hernandez and Coca, ran crews that would scout locations to steal motorcycles, which would get their the vehicle identification numbers changed and be resold to third parties, according to prosecutors.
Galicia allegedly ran the sophisticate operation out of storage facility in the 1000 block of Crestfield Drive in Duarte, where vans dropped the stolen bikes off, according to a news release from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which is part of the Multi-Agency Taskforce for Regional Autotheft Prevention that investigated the thefts.
Investigators recovered 33 confirmed stolen motorcycles, and 58 engines and frames believed to have been stolen in Los Angeles and Orange counties. The bikes were worth more than $300,000 in losses, according to the sheriff’s news release.
The three men were each charged Thursday with one count of unlawful vehicle identification activity, chop shop operation and receiving stolen property, as well as 31 counts each of receiving stolen property, motor vehicle, according to the DA’s office.
One of the stolen bikes with an evidence tag attached. (Credit: KTLA)
Galicia and Coca pleaded not guilty Thursday at Alhambra Superior Court. Hernandez, who bailed out earlier, will be arraigned at a later date, the DA’s office stated.
The three men face more than 29 years in prison.
Also charged with 32 counts were: Reymond Robles, 39, of Los Angeles; Dean Richard Campa, 43, of Glendale; Antonio Venegas, 34, of Paramount; Salvador Rodriguez, 37, of Compton; Daneil Dejesus, 37, also of Compton; and Omar Gomez, 25, of Bell Gardens.
Those six men face more than 20 years in prison.
No booking photos were released because authorities said the investigation was ongoing.
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