Stolen excavator helps police find Gwinnett County chop shop, officials say

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - A man is behind bars, accused of running a chop shop from his home in Norcross. Gwinnett County police arrested Larry Dobbs at his house on the 800 block of Rockbridge Way. Investigators say they found $100,000 in stolen property, including construction equipment, an SUV and even fentanyl.

Police say a victim called them on Tuesday to report something was missing from his property.

"He had a mini excavator stolen," said Cpl. Ryan Winderweedle with the Gwinnett County Police Department.

They say the victim placed a GPS tracker on the piece of construction equipment, "called police, and we were able to respond to the scene and locate it immediately."

Police say detectives tracked the signal to Dobbs’ home. 

"They located the visible mini-excavator the victim called about, another excavator, stolen SUV, three vehicles that had the VIN removed or altered, a trailer, a couple of motorcycles and, I believe, even fentanyl and oxycodone and a stolen firearm," Winderweedle said. "Approximately $100,000 worth of stolen property was recovered from the incident."

Jerry Sherrill, who lives nearby, says he was unaware of any illegal activity.

"Very surprised. This is a quiet neighborhood and peaceful. I had no idea anything like a chop shop was going on," Sherrill said.

A woman, who did not want to reveal her identity, says she’s worried.

"It makes me scared for my safety, my home," the woman said.

Dobbs faces a number of charges, including operating a chop shop, theft by taking, felony theft by receiving three times, misdemeanor theft by receiving, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a controlled substance two times, three counts of felony altered VIN, and possession of tools for the commission of a crime.