Trio facing charges after chop shop found at NW Miami-Dade home: Sheriff

Three men are accused of operating a chop shop at a northwest Miami-Dade home after authorities said they found multiple stolen vehicles on the property.

Carlos Alberto Martin-Avila, 40, Eric Banos, 52, and Tomas Leyva, 59, were arrested Thursday on charges including operating, owning or aiding a chop shop, possession of a vehicle with an altered ID, and grand theft of a vehicle, arrest reports said.

The arrests came after the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office Gangs Unit executed a search warrant at 10300 Northwest 30th Place.

When deputies arrived, Martin-Avila and Banos were seen working on three mopeds, including one that had a metal plate welded over the original VIN to conceal it, the reports said.

One motorcycle on the property had no Florida license plate and a damaged ignition assembly consistent with methods used to steal motorcycles, the reports said.

The VIN had been ground off and another identifying number was scratched off, and it was determined the motorcycle had been stolen in June of 2024 in Miami, the reports said.

A trailer on the property appeared to have been repainted with all identifying markings and its VIN unreadable, and it had a Florida tag that was not assigned to any vehicle in state records, the reports said.

More mopeds, electric bicycles and various tools were found on the property including one electric motorcycle that had been reported stolen in May 2024 in Miami, the reports said.

A moped in the front yard had no license plate and its VIN completely removed, while an ATV in the backyard had no license plate and its VIN placard “showed signs of tampering consistent with restamping,” the reports said.

A Suzuki motorcycle in the backyard had no license plate and its VIN was “defaced and grounded off,” while a red motorcycle had a license plate assigned to a blue motorcycle that had previously been reported stolen in Miami-Dade, the reports said.

Leyva, who leases the property, was arrested and booked into jail along with Banos and Martin-Avila.

One neighbor said he’d been complaining to police about suspicious activity happening at the property and homeless people randomly showing up to hang out.

“All these mess over here, they left yesterday and it’s been here forever. They just put like warnings and they don’t do anything,” Javier Castellanos said. “We all here in this community feel very unsecure with these people. They treat us, they’ve been treating us and they’ve been arguing to us. We’ve been trying to call police and unfortunately they just arrive and they don’t, they can’t do nothing about it.”