- Authorities busted a Dodge-centric chop shop and arrested four people associated with it.
- They say that this shop would do engine swaps to help evade detection and then sell cars at a deep discount.
- Police are still searching for two more suspects they say were part of the ring.
Criminals can prove to be very creative in the way that they achieve their goals. In the case of a person authorities are calling ‘Hellcat Mike’, stealing a car was far from the final goal. Instead, his organization specialized in targeting Hellcats and other high-horsepower Dodge vehicles, meticulously stripping them of their drivetrain components and beyond, repurposing them for the construction of entirely new cars.
According to Sheriff Javier Salazar of Bexar County in Texas, these arrests came on May 3 after a lengthy year-long investigation. In February, police busted a chop shop at 1039 Basse Rd. What they allege is that Michael Wilson, 37, aka Hellcat Mike, was running a sophisticated operation.
Read: LA Police Chase Ends In Fatal Lamborghini Crash
Hellcat Mike, along with several others, would steal Hellcat-powered vehicles and then install the drivetrain into other, lesser Dodge products. Then, they would sell the completed vehicle for roughly half what they would’ve been worth otherwise.
In addition, some graphics used by the ring indicate that they may have offered complete swaps for Dodge owners. During the initial raid, officers found seven stolen vehicles, including one in the middle of the process. Part of the operation included stealing PCMs from local dealerships to use in stolen vehicles.
In addition to Wilson, police arrested George Santibanez, Miguel Santibanez, and Ethan Soto. Each of these individually allegedly played their own unique role in the organization. Wilson is facing a $750,000 bond for the charges associated with the chop shop and other unrelated incidents according to Sheriff Salazar.
Officers are still looking for two 18-year-old suspects. One, Austin Gallegos, is wanted for being engaged in organized crime activity. The other, Jodacey Santibanez, is facing charges for the same thing along with theft of a vehicle and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Authorities hope that anyone with information about the case will contact them at 210-335-6000.