$600k in Camaros, Corvettes recovered after California task force raids Central Valley chop shop

More than half a million dollars in stolen vehicles and car parts were recovered and five people were arrested after a California law enforcement task force swept a suspected chop shop in a Central Valley town this week.

The California Highway Patrol said that its San Joaquin County Auto Theft Task Force — composed of several allied agencies including police from Stockton, Tracy and Manteca, as well as the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office — found at least 12 stolen vehicles Monday during the raid. The vehicles and various vehicle parts, like hoods and doors, are estimated to be worth about $600,000, the CHP said in a Friday news release.

The raid was part of a task force investigation of thefts involving “high-end American-made sports cars” that led authorities to the suspected chop shop in Banta, an unincorporated town of about 15,000 people several miles east of Tracy.

Investigators uncovered at least 10 Chevrolet Camaros and two Corvettes. Task force members also discovered “a large amount” of stolen vehicle parts and a stolen engine. The vehicles and the parts were reported to multiple law enforcement agencies — from San Francisco to Stanislaus County — as stolen, the CHP said.

Two men — identified as James Phelan and Harley Davidson, 28 — were arrested during Monday’s search and were accused of operating a chop shop and possessing a stolen vehicle.

Hamdy Naim Jamali, 34, of Manteca, was arrested later that day. Officers said the third suspect was selling parts and allegedly possessed a key fobbing device at the time of his arrest.

A fourth suspect, Tracy resident Lloyd Thomas Bernhard, 27, was arrested Wednesday and was charged similarly. Bernhard was also accused of possessing “approximately 100 pills believed to be fentanyl,” the CHP said.

A fifth suspect, Stephanie Celeste Tejada Otero, was also arrested and charged in connection with the bust, according to San Joaquin Superior Court records.

All five suspects were arraigned Friday in Manteca on charges related to the vehicle thefts; Tejada, Davidson and Jamali remained in San Joaquin jail custody, according to records, and it was unclear the whereabouts of Phelan and Bernhard.