DETROIT (WXYZ) — Detroit police call it a victory.
“We got about 39 vehicles out of there,” Detroit Deputy Chief Eric Ewing said.
Earlier this week, the Detroit Police Department hauled away dozens of 4-wheelers, motorbikes and cars stored on a residential street on the city's east side. The commercial auto theft unit is now investigating. But so far, the deputy chief says, “We haven’t located any stolen vehicles as of yet.”
“Ain't nothing stolen,” said a man who was handcuffed on the day of the raid. He does not want to be identified but says it’s not an illegal chop shop.
“Everybody got titles, everybody got the correct paperwork,” he said.
DPD says nine confiscated vehicles were unregistered and at least three appear to be re-tagged.
“Everything that’s here was paid for,” said the homeowner who also does not want to be identified.
The homeowner says her son is an ATV enthusiast and she allows him and his friends to store their motor vehicles on the lot. However, neighbors say the noise is becoming unbearable and police say the complaints are piling.
“Squealing tires, things of that nature, not obeying traffic laws. And first of all, let’s talk about it: ATVs are not zoned to be on city streets in the first place,” Ewing said.
But the homeowner says there's no space for people to enjoy their hobby.
"They have a skate park, they have a bike lane, people can ride their motorcycles, what about the people with the 4-wheelers?" the homeowner said. "If they gave us somewhere to ride and enough space for us to just have fun, of course, we would leave everybody alone, of course.”
7 Action News asked DPD if some kind of area would be made available for people to ride their ATVs safely. We were told they are not sure if an attempt is being made right now, but they are willing to have the conversation.
In the meantime, we are told a person has $35,000 worth of tickets issued in connection to the vehicle seizures.
