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CHRIS TISCHPolice say two motorcycles found in the back of the Chevrolet Astro were stolen in Clearwater.
CLEARWATER - Timothy L. Roach has had a bad week. First his van burned, and then he was arrested because two motorcycles in the back of the van were found to be stolen.
Roach, 24, was arrested Wednesday on two charges of grand theft. He posted $10,000 bail and was released from the Pinellas County Jail.
Police and firefighters were summoned to Roach's residence at 24862 U.S. 19 N on Tuesday night after his neighbors called 911 to report that Roach's 1987 Chevrolet Astro van was on fire. Roach was inside his home asleep.
"When the Fire Department got there, the van was engulfed," said Clearwater police Detective Mark Weaver.
After firefighters put out the blaze, arson investigators asked Roach if he had anything in the back of the van. He said no, Weaver said.
But investigators saw two motorcycles back there. When asked how they got there, Roach said he didn't know, Weaver said.
Police ran the motorcycle tags through computers and learned both had been stolen in Clearwater.
One of the motorcycles was linked to a chop shop, which dismantles stolen vehicles to sell parts, in Palm Harbor. Sheriff's deputies last month charged 33-year-old Brian K. Wellington with running the illegal operation.
Pinellas sheriff's deputies said Wellington stole a 2001 Yamaha and a 2002 Suzuki, and had pieces of several motorcycles at his home at 3941 Arlington Drive. One of those parts was an engine with an altered vehicle identification number. He also sold an engine from a motorcycle stolen from Cedar Lakes, Ind.
Wellington was charged with six felonies: two counts of grand theft auto, two counts of dealing stolen property and one count each of operating a chop shop and possessing components with altered identification numbers.
Weaver said Roach and Wellington ran a business together called Coyote Racing.