Task force uncovers bike chop shop

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Bike Week draws hundreds of thousands of people to Central Florida from all parts of the country, including a man who is accused of stripping motorcycles while people enjoy all the festivities.

Richard Cintron, 32, is accused of stealing a motorcycle and dismantling it to use its parts on his own motorcycle. Cintron is 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 local law enforcement 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. 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. However, his story soon changed under further questioning.

Gallan 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. 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.

Gallan revealed that for about five years he had been assisting Cintron in the registering of bikes which Gallan knew were stolen. The case is still under investigation, and charges against Gallan are pending.