Police say a tip led officers to what they described as a hidden chop shop inside an Essex County business on Monday.
According to a Fairfield Police Department statement, a tipster alerted police shortly after 2:30 a.m. that a stolen vehicle was being stored and dismantled at Veracity Stone Fabricators in Fairfield and suspected illegal activity. He said the evidence would be removed by 6 a.m. Police said the caller also provided police with photos of the shop disassembling cars used to extract stone to make countertops and other furniture for home and business installations.
Officers rushed to the building and found no one there, but a disassembled blue 2016 Honda CRV, which had been reported stolen in New York City on December 11, 2023, was found in the back parking lot. The department announced. The CRV's engine was later found inside the store, police said.
Officials say a Honda Ridgeline came to the property twice while police continued their investigation and was eventually stopped and its three occupants were taken into custody. One of the men, a 29-year-old Ridgewood man, was arrested, charged and released on suspicion of being in possession of cocaine.
Detectives also found a second vehicle that had been chopped up inside the building. Police say this time it was a gray 2016 Honda CRV. The Honda was also reported stolen from New York on January 5th.
Two other CRVs were found at the scene, police said. Investigators found that one vehicle had an altered VIN number and the other had a concealed VIN number, according to the release. Police were in the process of gathering search warrants to obtain more information about the two SUVs.
On Tuesday, Edison Cuevas, 37, of Yonkers, New York, turned himself in to Fairfield authorities and was charged with two counts of receiving a stolen motor vehicle, one count of operating a facility selling stolen auto parts, and theft, the department said. There is only one charge of conspiracy to operate a facility that sells auto parts. He was being held in the Essex County Jail.
Police said Cuevas is accused of being one of the people responsible for dismantling several cars at a stone processing warehouse early Monday morning. Information about his attorney was not immediately available.
“Our detectives have done an outstanding job tracking down the suspects in this case and have worked diligently to convict each suspect,” Fairfield Police Chief Anthony G. Manna said in a statement. said. “While the investigation continues, the department has not ruled out additional arrests.”
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Chris Sheldon can be contacted at: csheldon@njadvancemedia.com.
