Chop Shop King Pleads Guilty in $1.5M Car Theft Ring

DAYTON, Ohio – The grimy underbelly of auto crime was exposed as Kahrese Tracey Scott Lee, 28, of Cincinnati, alias “Reese Lee” and “Bennett Jones,” pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for his role in a $1.5 million chop shop conspiracy.

Lee’s operation, which spanned from October 2023 to October 2024, involved the transport of stolen vehicles across state lines and the illegal dismantling of cars at his Dayton garage. The scale of his crime was colossal; in May 2024 alone, Lee’s chop shop harbored over half a million dollars’ worth of stolen vehicles and parts.

But it wasn’t just about money for Lee. He also engaged in thefts himself, leading a crew from Ohio to Indiana, where they swiped three cars valued at more than $200,000 from an auto lot. They were ultimately caught in Alabama, where Lee had planned to set up shop anew, but the law moved swiftly, returning the stolen vehicles to their rightful owners.

Lee’s greed didn’t stop there; he even returned to Indiana to try and steal a vehicle that had been fitted with a tracking device. His plans were thwarted when law enforcement apprehended him in the act.

The grim tally of Lee’s crime spree: six charges, including conspiracy to transport stolen vehicles and operating a chop shop. Now, as he faces up to 15 years behind bars, his reign of auto crime appears to have come to an end.

Senior U.S. District Judge Walter H. Rice presided over the guilty plea on July 11. The case is being represented by Deputy Criminal Chief Brent G. Tabacchi and Assistant United States Attorney Rob Painter for the United States. The charges were announced by Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Elena Iatarola, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Cincinnati Division; and Dayton Police Chief Kamran Afzal.

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