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Courtesy photo/Jail mug. Richard Cintron, 32, of New York, is charged with stealing a motorcycle and operating a chop shop in a house rental in New Smyrna Beach.
NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- A local law enforcement task force combating motorcycle thefts during Bike Week arrested a New York man Tuesday., A Volusia County Sheriff's spokesman said.
Richard Cintron, 32, is accused of stealing a motorcycle and dismantling it to use its parts on his own motorcycle. He was charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle and operating a chop shop. The stripped down bike and a second stolen bike were found in a New Smyrna Beach house that he rented for Bike Week.
"The trail to Cintron's arrest started Monday when Task Force agents investigated a motorcycle theft. Sometime between 10 p.m. and midnight a 2007 Suzuki DRZ400 was taken from 10 Boardwalk, Daytona Beach.
The victim said that it's uncommon to see his type of bike in Florida, and so he contacted local mechanics, asking to be notified if his motorcycle or any parts from it turned up," Sheriff's spokesman Brandon Haught said. "His efforts paid off Tuesday when found his wheels at a Holly Hill shop where a customer had dropped them off to be worked on. Once the victim verified that the wheels were his, he told Task Force investigators."
The mechanic then called the person who had dropped off the wheels to tell them to come back and pick them up. When two men showed up, investigators were waiting there to talk with them. One of the suspects, 24-year-old Valentin Gallan, agreed to talk with the investigators and initially claimed that he had purchased the wheels late Monday for $500 from someone who had advertised on Craig's List., Haught said.
However, his story soon changed under further questioning. He finally agreed to take investigators to 838 19th Ave., New Smyrna Beach, a home that he and Cintron were renting for the week.
"On the floor of the garage were pieces of the motorcycle that had been stolen Monday," Haught said.
Investigators were given permission to inspect other motorcycles found in the garage, and they discovered a Suzuki GSXR 1000 that had its original Vehicle Identification Number obliterated and replaced with a fake one. The Task Force then obtained a search warrant to allow further inspection.
"Gallan revealed that for about five years he had been assisting Cintron in the registering of bikes Gallan knew were stolen," Haught said. "Cintron provided Gallan with the stolen motorcycles' New York certificates of title, and Gallan would register the bikes in Florida. The motorcycles then went back to Cintron in New York to be sold. Finally, Gallan said that on Monday Cintron had stolen the motorcycle from 10 Boardwalk while Gallan acted as lookout."
Haught said the investigatio showed Cintron was having problems with the wheels on his own bike and so he allegedly stole a motorcycle that had matching wheels with the purpose of using parts from the stolen bike to fix up his own. The case is still under investigation, and charges against Gallan are pending.
FAST FACTS
The Volusia County Motorcycle Anti-Theft Task Force is comprised of the Volusia County Sheriff's Office, Daytona Beach Police Department, New Smyrna Beach Police Department, Port Orange Police Department, South Daytona Police Department, Daytona Beach Shores Department of Public Safety, DeLand Police Department, Seminole County Sheriff's Office, Florida Highway Patrol, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, Connecticut State Police, Geico Insurance, State Farm Insurance and RDA Insurance.