ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis woman could spend 15 years in prison after she admitted to running a chop shop in a north St. Louis warehouse.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, 28-year-old Heather Marty pleaded guilty to transporting a stolen vehicle and running a chop shop Monday.
The above video was published on March 17, 2023.
Prosecutors said Marty admitted to living in the warehouse on the 2900 block of North Jefferson Avenue while it was being used to store and disassemble stolen vehicles.
According to the guilty plea, St. Louis police first found a stolen Yamaha motorcycle in front of the warehouse on Oct. 30, 2021. When officers asked to see the inside of the building, Marty refused to let them inside.
Officers continued their investigation, and over the course of the next seven months, they found 12 stolen vehicles in or near the building. That included three motorcycles, five pickup trucks, three cars and one SUV, Marty’s plea agreement said.
Investigators said some of the vehicles inside the warehouse were in various stages of disassembly.
Marty also had nine license plates, two of which were stolen, when she was arrested in 2022.
A judge set a sentencing date of Sept. 19. Marty could face up to 10 years in prison for the stolen vehicle charge and 15 years for the chop shop charge. She could also be fined up to $250,000 for each charge.
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