Novak charged with operating chop shop
By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor
A 44-year-old Alexander man is facing five felony charges for operating a chop shop, theft of property and tampering with vehicle identification numbers according to a complaint and affidavit filed in the Northwest District Court in Watford City on May 7.
In the filed affidavit, Cameron McCann of the North Dakota Highway Patrol noted that on April 16, 2018, Thomas Novak was in possession of a stolen vehicle, which was parted out, and was in possession of three vehicles with altered/removed vehicle identification numbers (VIN) and had sold a fourth vehicle with an altered VIN sometime in the last two years.
In the affidavit, Jorege Palmerin-Rodriguez stated that he had purchased a 2006 Chevrolet Silverado for parts and had received a bill of sale for the vehicle since Novak did not have the title for the vehicle. After the work on Palmerin-Rodriguez’s GMC was completed, he did not receive the Chevrolet he had purchased and his GMC’s VIN had been removed and replaced with the Chevrolet’s VIN.
During the course of the investigation, Novak was arrested by the Watford City Police Department for possession of a stolen vehicle.
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