Former Fla. Fugitive Sentenced in Stolen Parts Ring

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum announced that a Naples man has been sentenced to 24 years in prison for his role in a criminal ring that stole dump trucks from around the state and stripped the various salable parts, then disposed of the extra components.

Julio Urtiaga previously pleaded guilty to multiple counts of grand theft and operation of a chop shop. He was prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.

Urtiaga, 45, was arrested in December 2005 by a statewide Commercial Motor Vehicle Theft Task Force. The investigation into multiple thefts of dump trucks eventually led detectives to Urtiaga, and a search warrant was executed on his residence. During the search, detectives reportedly recovered several stolen dump trucks, heavy equipment and stolen trailers. Many of the vehicles had their Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) altered or removed, but detectives were able to identify the stolen equipment by virtue of secondary hidden VINs.

In August 2006, Urtiaga plead guilty to 10 counts of first-degree grand theft over $100,000, five counts of second-degree grand theft over $20,000, two counts of third-degree grand theft over $300, and one count of operating a chop shop, also a third-degree felony. In the plea agreement, Urtiaga agreed to cooperate with the state, promising to provide detectives with information on other cases. Instead, Urtiaga reportedly fled the country in October 2006, but was located in Mexico two months later and was eventually extradited back to Collier County in March of this year, where the plea agreement was revoked.

In addition to the prison sentence and a six-year probation term, Urtiaga was also sentenced to pay restitution to his victims and was ordered to reimburse the state for the cost of the investigation and prosecution.