Five people sentenced in Cleveland chop shop ring

CLEVELAND - Four men were sentenced to prison for their roles in a conspiracy that trafficked in stolen vehicles, backhoes, steel, scrap metal and more through a chop shop and scrap metal yard in Cleveland.

U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio Steven Dettelbach said the following people were sentenced:

- Lindsey Blackmon, 48, of Cleveland, was sentenced to nearly five years in prison
- Nayyir Mahdi, aka “Willie Jones,” 42, of Shaker Heights, was sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to pay $22,184 in restitution
- Curtis Wilder, 43, of Bedford Heights, was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay $346,845 in restitution
- Gilbert Evans, 48, of Cleveland, was sentenced to 16 months in prison
- Mark Brown, 46, of Cleveland, was sentenced to one day in jail followed by eight months of home confinement

Davies Pierce, of Cleveland, is scheduled to be sentenced next month.

“These defendants ended up with semi-trucks or pickups that were stolen from parking lots and other places,” Dettelbach said. “This conspiracy included thefts in Warrensville Heights, Willoughby, Mentor, Euclid, Elyria and a slew of other locations.”

Nine others were indicted on related charges in state court.