Two northwest Miami-Dade men are facing felony charges in a moped chop shop case, the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said. The investigation started Thursday with a traffic stop in the unincorporated Pinewood area.
A deputy pulled over Sean Patrick O’Hara, 52, at Northwest 95th Street and Seventh Avenue for not wearing required eye protection while riding a moped. Deputies said the moped had been stolen in Miami on Oct. 20, was being run without a key and had a tampered ignition.
O’Hara told deputies a man he knew only as Danny had loaned him the moped. During the interview, he said Danny routinely stole mopeds, according to the sheriff’s report. O’Hara offered to show deputies Danny’s trailer, where he said they would find a stolen pink moped.
Deputies said they found the pink moped at the Colonial Acres Mobile Home Park, at 9674 NW 10th Ave. They also located Danny, identified as Daniel Felix Perez, 44. Perez admitted stealing the moped O’Hara was riding but blamed O’Hara for taking the pink one. A check showed the pink moped had also been stolen in Miami.
Both men were charged with two vehicle theft counts and one count of operating, owning, aiding or abetting a chop shop. Records also show O’Hara was arrested on a fleeing and eluding charge, though details were not immediately available.
As of Thursday afternoon, Perez was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $5,000 bond. O’Hara’s bond was set at more than $7,500.
