Man Sentenced for Role in Motorcycle Theft Ring

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum announced that a Lee County man has been sentenced to five years in prison for his role in a motorcycle theft ring operating in Southwest Florida. Andres Lopez pleaded guilty to 12 counts of grand theft auto and was prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.

Lopez, a key player in the motorcycle theft ring, was reportedly responsible for multiple thefts along Florida’s west coast from Sarasota to Collier counties. The investigation into the thefts began when a LoJack signal was received from a motorcycle that had been reported stolen from Sarasota. Detectives with the Grand Theft Auto Unit of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office received a tip from the man found in possession of that stolen motorcycle and began to follow Lopez.

Investigators eventually reportedly observed Lopez in possession of multiple suspected stolen motorcycles. Law enforcement officers served a search warrant at his home and recovered a recently stolen motorcycle as well as evidence of Lopez’s participation in the theft of other motorcycles. The search of Lopez’s house provided details as to how the individual motorcycles were selected to be stolen, who they would be stolen for, and other credible information leading to the arrest of several other targeted individuals.

In addition to the prison sentence, Lopez and his co-defendants must pay back more than $62,500 in restitution to the 12 victims.