Osteen Chop Shop Discovered, 10 Stolen Vehicles Recovered, Operator Arrested

Date Added: May 06, 2022 10:53 am

Andrew Gant
Office of Public Affairs & Media Relations

OSTEEN CHOP SHOP DISCOVERED, 10 STOLEN VEHICLES RECOVERED, OPERATOR ARRESTED

An investigation of a significant chop shop discovered in Osteen this past December has resulted in felony charges against the operator, and detectives are continuing to work on the case, with additional charges possible.

Members of the Deltona Detectives Unit, with assistance from the VSO drone team and range units, recovered 10 vehicles with a value of about $178,000 from the 20-acre property at 1245 Gee Whiz Drive along the St. Johns River.

The vehicles, each in various stages of dismantling, had been reported stolen over a period of several years (2012 to 2021) from various jurisdictions, including Orlando, Winter Garden, Brevard County, and Burlington, Ala.

On March 20, the chop shop operator, Raymond Thomas Clark, 34 (DOB 4/29/1988), was arrested by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office in the Florida Keys. In addition to his Volusia warrant charging him with 10 counts of grand theft, possession of a vehicle with an altered VIN and operating a chop shop, Monroe deputies also charged him with DUI.

The investigation into Clark’s chop shop is ongoing and additional charges are possible.