Chicago School Buses Stolen: Sergio Quintero Charged After 8 Buses Found In Scrap Yard

Scrap Yard Owner Charged Following Theft Of 8 School Buses

Updated story

Unrelated charges were filed Sunday in the theft of eight school buses from a garage on Chicago's South Side.

The buses were discovered to be missing early Friday morning when workers arrived at the Sunrise School Bus and Charter garage in the 10000 block of South Torrence Avenue, the Associated Press reports.

Using GPS tracking systems on the buses, authorities later Friday identified shredded remnants of the buses -- which will cost $75,000 to replace apiece -- in pieces at Gonzalez Auto and Truck Parts, a scrap yard at 3405 S. Lawndale Ave., almost 20 miles away, on the city's West Side, ABC Chicago reports.

Sergio Quintero, the 44-year-old owner of the scrap yard, was charged with possession of a title or registration without assignment, a felony, police announced Sunday, according to CBS Chicago.

The charge, DNAinfo notes, was unrelated to the bus theft. Rather, it was a result of his lacking a title for a 1994 Nissan Altima. Three others were taken into police custody in the incident, but no other charges have been filed as of Sunday afternoon.

The buses provide service for CPS students, but are backups -- so no students were directly impacted by the theft, CBS Chicago reports.

"I expected to pull up and meet the police and see eight buses," Greg Bonnett, the buses' owner, previously told the Chicago Tribune of the sight. "I got here and I saw exactly what you're looking at now. A pile of scrap with school bus yellow."

The yard has previously been cited for several violations dating back to 2007, according to the AP.

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