Troopers say home might have been a chop shop

WASILLA — A disassembled pickup led Alaska State Troopers to what they say was a chop shop on Hiawatha Road.

The phrase “chop shop” generally refers to a criminal enterprise engaged in taking apart vehicles to sell piece by piece. The alleged chop shop just north of Wasilla came to light Saturday, and troopers report the pickup they found was a total loss.

“It was a 2003 Dodge Ram and apparently it was a pretty nice truck, it had all sorts of modifications and extra bling on it, but it was being cut up with the intent to sell parts on Craigslist,” AST spokeswoman Beth Ipsen said Monday.

She said it had been reported stolen from a property further north on Schrock Road. Evidence at the scene seemed to indicate that this wasn’t the first vehicle to go through the operation.

“There were a few parts left over from other vehicles, meaning a majority of the car was already missing,” Ipsen said. “Unfortunately, a lot of the parts that were found here, it’s going to be hard to trace them back to other vehicles.”

Also at the home were some high-end tools that also had been reported stolen, Ipsen said.

Hiawatha Drive is, with probably one exception, a relatively well-kept street and neighbors have high-end homes. Ipsen would not say which home in particular is the site of troopers’ investigation.

The last time troopers came up with a Valley criminal operation they deemed a chop shop was in 2006 when a handful of people were swept up and charged with various kinds of theft for an operation in Talkeetna that was cutting up stolen snowmachines and motorcycles for piece-by-piece sale.

Ipsen said that in this current case, she didn’t know if the operation targeted anything besides cars and trucks, but she has heard of shops chopping snowmachines and four-wheelers.

People with information are asked to contact Trooper Investigator Hayes or Trooper Lopez at 745-2131. People who might have information troopers could use include anyone who’s had business with the shop or folks who suspect their missing property might have ended up there.

Contact reporter Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.