Man nabbed for allegedly operating chop shop on Hwy. 98

As of Tuesday, law enforcement officials had discovered four stolen vehicles, but Madison County Sheriff Kip Thomas said he expects that number may rise, given the large number of stripped-out vehicles on the property.
“We have so much we have to go through,” said Sheriff Thomas, who noted that some Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) plates had been removed.

Two men linked to the alleged chop shop operator are George Clay Sears, 39, 196 Blacks Creek Church Road, Danielsville and Bruce Edenfield, 45, 54 Eades Drive, Commerce. Both were charged with one count of criminal attempt to commit a felony after being arrested for the allegedly attempting to steal a vehicle with a rollback truck owned by Thomas.

According to the incident report on the attempted theft, the victim on Hwy. 29 told officer Brandon Hanley that he walked outside and noticed a vehicle backing out of his driveway that then stopped at his shop. The victim then drove over to his shop where he found a red rollback truck in front of his jeep. The jeep had been connected to the rollback with chains. The man said he confronted the two men and was told by the rollback driver that they had been told to pick up a broken down jeep near Zeb’s Barbecue on the left, but that he did not want any problems. He then unhooked the chains and left, dragging them behind the rollback. The victim said he could identify the driver if he saw him again.

A neighbor across the road said he saw the men and that the rollback had quit running, so he jumped it off for them. He said he was unaware that they did not have permission to get the vehicle. The officer noted that the Jeep, a 1989 Jeep CJ 7, had no front end or engine and that it was parked behind a block building way off the road and could not be construed as being “broken down” on the road.

Officer Hanley later spotted the rollback on Hwy. 29 North less than a mile from the incident location and initiated a traffic stop, arresting both men at the scene. The rollback was towed.