Alleged Chop Shop Operator Arrested In Wildomar

Police are accusing a Wildomar man of operating a chop shop and now he's behind bars.

Thomas O’Brien Moore, 39, was arrested May 3 around 5:30 p.m. at a residence in the 33200 block of Hidden Hollow Drive after a deputy on patrol followed up on a report of a stolen vehicle at the home, according to Sgt. David Cardoza of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

The investigation took a turn when the deputy spotted a Honda quad and a Mercedes Benz sedan reported stolen out Wildomar, as well as a license plate for a Mercedes Benz sedan stolen out of Lake Elsinore, Cardoza said.

Moore was arrested at the scene and booked into Southwest Detention Center on suspicion of receiving stolen property and committing a felony while being out on bail/release. According to court records, he's been arrested before on charges of receiving stolen property.

Police allegedly piled up more evidence against Moore when the next day deputies followed up on the investigation. Their work led them to a residence in the 22400 block of Lost Road in Wildomar where they allegedly found a Honda motorcycle reported stolen out of Wildomar, parts to a Toyota Tundra truck reported stolen out of Lake Elsinore, and a partially stripped Ford Ranger truck “that may have been ‘body-swapped’ with another Ford Ranger truck,” Cardoza said.

The county’s Special Investigation Bureau was contacted, and the Riverside Auto Theft Interdiction Detail (R.A.I.D.) responded to assist with the investigation, Cardoza continued. Eventually the teams located engine parts to a Ford Ranger truck that was reported stolen out of Menifee.

According to jail records, Moore is currently being held in custody in lieu of a $15,000 bail bond.