Elloree theft leads to alleged chop shop; suspect charged, second person sought in probe

Joseph Michael Burden, 48, was taken into custody on charges of grand larceny of goods valued at $10,000 or more, receiving stolen goods and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

The case required an unusual amount of time, travel and communication with other agencies, but Murphree said: “We are relentless. We take care of our people and their property.”

The case began when someone forced entry into Carolina Eastern-Elloree on Snider Street in the pre-dawn hours of Aug. 16. The company describes itself as a dealer of agricultural products.

A fence was damaged and two trailers were missing: a 2018 Big Tex flatbed trailer owned by the company and valued at $10,500 and a 2021 Cynergy enclosed trailer owned by an employee and valued at $8,000.

Elloree police got their first break in the case on Sept. 5, when the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office shared information about the theft of a trailer in the Poplar Creek area.

Security camera images at both scenes showed a black Hummer towing a trailer. Murphree put out a “be on the lookout” notice for the vehicle.

Just minutes later, a South Carolina Highway Patrol trooper saw the vehicle in Santee and performed a traffic stop.

The driver was Burden, who said he had no fixed address and had been residing short-term at various campgrounds along Lake Marion, including at Santee State Park and in the Eutawville area.

Murphree drove to the scene of the traffic stop, took Burden into custody and transported him to the Orangeburg County Detention Center.

A magistrate set bond on Burden at $500,000 cash or surety for the Elloree charges and an additional $75,000 cash or surety for the Calhoun County charge, Murphree said.

Further investigation indicated that the trailers had been hauled to locations in Clarendon County and were allegedly sold for $600 to $800 each to a man who drove a yellow Hummer and a brown truck, Murphree said.

Investigators then went to the Highview Street residence of 24-year-old Luis Gustavo Sanchez Rosas in rural Sumter County and found a yellow Hummer and a brown truck, Murphree said.

They also allegedly found the T-Rex trailer reported stolen in Elloree, an expensive hydraulic dump trailer reported stolen from Orangeburg County, a four-wheeler reported stolen from Charleston County and a large food truck reported stolen from Richland County.

Officers claim they found items that had been inside the trailer that was stolen from the Poplar Creek area, but they did not find the trailer itself.

Law officers also found welding machines and paint sprayers. They also allegedly found three trailers with vehicle identification numbers that had been removed, repainted and welded over, Murphree said.

Murphree claims, “This was a 100 percent chop shop.” The term “chop shop” is slang for a place where stolen vehicles are disassembled so that the parts can be sold or otherwise reused.

The items that were recovered intact were valued at about $55,000, Murphree said.

“The Elloree Police Department did not do it by ourselves,” the chief said. “It was a team effort of sharing information and working together. We wouldn’t have solved this without the sharing of information.”

Murphree expressed appreciation to the South Carolina Information and Intelligence Center, also known as the Fusion Center. He said the center often doesn’t get the credit it deserves for its behind-the-scenes role in solving crimes.

He also thanked the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office, the Clarendon County Sheriff’s Office, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, the Holly Hill Police Department, the Eutawville Police Department, the South Carolina Highway Patrol, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Elloree Police Assistant Chief David Martin, and Elloree Police Investigator Austin Arant for their assistance.