Whidbey man allegedly transplants car parts

A 26-year-old transient is accused of chopping up a stolen car at a North Whidbey garage and putting the parts on his own car, according to court documents.

Prosecutors charged Tristen Fears in Island County Superior Court with possession of a stolen vehicle. He pleaded not guilty April 14.

Detective Daniel Todd with the Island County Sheriff’s Office investigated the unusual case. On March 27, he received a phone call from a confidential informant who said there may be a stolen car in a pole barn on Jones Road.

Todd investigated and found a blue Honda Accord that had been totally stripped down. A long list of the missing parts of the car included the engine, the top, tires, wheels, seats, hood, fenders, bumpers and the front end, Todd wrote.

The VIN plates had been removed from the car, but the detective was able to identify it from a sticker on a door jam. It had been stolen out of Edmonds ten days before.

Todd wrote that he found the engine hoisted over another, motorless Honda Accord, which was registered to Fears. A resident of the property claimed Fears had driven the stolen car to the garage. The man also claimed Fears had said he was stripping the parts off the car and placing them on his own vehicle because it was easier to sell, according to the report.

Fears told the detective that he purchased the already-dismantled car from a man in Kent for $300, Todd wrote. But Todd noted that Fears’ story changed several times, the report shows.

Fears, a transient, did not live at the home, but had permission from one of the residents to use the garage.

You can reach News-Times reporter Jessie Stensland at jstensland@whidbeynewstimes.com or call 675-6611.

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