Community members brought a backhoe to dig up a stolen car at a property on Painted Wagon Trail in Whispering Ranch, as Wickenburg police capped a month-long investigation into an alleged chop shop. Officers arrested the couple during a search-warrant raid early Saturday and say they now face multiple felony charges tied to vehicle trafficking and drug possession.
Buried Car Discovered Under Fresh Dirt
According to Arizona's Family, the Wickenburg Police Department served the search warrant at a property near 355th Avenue and Painted Wagon Trail, an area northwest of the Valley, and officers there found multiple stolen vehicles and stolen vehicle parts scattered across the site. The station reported the two suspects are expected to be booked into the Maricopa County jail, though authorities had not released their identities as the investigation continued.
FOX 10 Phoenix reported that community members brought a backhoe to dig up a buried car on the property. The station's report described the find as the dramatic centerpiece of a raid that also turned up three non-drivable vehicles and extensive vehicle parts scattered around the site.
A Month-Long Investigation Widens
The search warrant capped a month-long investigation that began with a traffic stop involving a stolen vehicle, then expanded after an anonymous tip and help from a confidential informant, per the same account. Wickenburg Police Lt. Aaron Hadley said the tip significantly widened the scope of the case, though the station did not specify further details of how the informant's information changed the investigation's direction.
The station's report indicates that the suspects allegedly made approximately $500 per vehicle by disassembling stolen cars and selling the parts to a scrapyard in the Phoenix area. Officers noted that chop shop operations and buried vehicles are highly unusual occurrences for the Whispering Ranch area and rural Wickenburg generally, the surrounding land being mostly rural residential desert.
A Property in Whispering Ranch
A LandSearch listing describes a five-acre parcel in Whispering Ranch as suitable for off-grid living.
The suspects are facing charges that include operating a chop shop, vehicle trafficking, and personal drug possession, per Arizona's Family. Under Arizona Revised Statutes § 13-4702, knowingly owning or operating a chop shop is a Class 2 felony carrying up to 12.5 years in prison, according to the Shouse Law Group, while buying, selling, or altering VINs on stolen parts is charged as a Class 4 felony. The law also provides an exception for licensed automotive recyclers acting in good faith.
Investigators have not said whether additional individuals were involved in stealing the vehicles in Phoenix before they were transported to the rural property, and the identities of the two suspects had not been released as of the initial report. Arizona's Family described the case as a developing story, and the investigation remains ongoing.
