MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO 'CHOP SHOP'

A Butler County, Mo., man pled guilty Tuesday to three federal felony charges. He appeared in federal court in Cape Girardeau, Mo., before U.S. District Judge Rodney W. Sippel.

Virgil M. Smith Jr., 48, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., pled guilty to one felony count of operating and maintaining a chop shot and two felony counts of trafficking in motor vehicles and parts.

He now faces a maximum 15 years in prison and, or a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is set for Dec. 11.

With his plea, Smith admitted that he knowingly operated the chop shop at his residence on Route NN north of Poplar Bluff. Police found VIN plates and identification numbers that belonged to pickup trucks reported stolen in the area. There also were pieces of vehicle frame sections that had been cut by a torch.

On the north side of Smith's home was a pickup truck that was reported stolen in 1995. Its secondary VIN had been destroyed by welding and grinding, and its engine and transmission numbers been destroyed.