FRESNO, Calif. (KMPH) -
Not many people get their car back after it's stolen, even fewer get their car back from a chop shop in one piece.
But it happened to a single mother of two in Fresno.
Fresno police say they took one man into custody, just as he was getting ready to strip a Saturn.
The car belongs to Kendra Crabtree.
"I came outside to take my son to daycare before I went to work, and it was gone," said Crabtree of the day she found her car missing, more than one week ago.
She bought it last year.
Before that, she took the bus everywhere.
"Why is this happening to me, I work hard to get what I have. It had my son's car seat, his picture was on the dashboard, he had no remorse for me and my family," said Crabtree.
After a week went by, she was sure she'd never see her Saturn again.
But on the opposite side of town, undercover officers were tracking a man they believed to be a car thief.
And Tuesday afternoon, they followed him to a trailer home in Central Fresno, where they found the Saturn.
"He started dismantling the vehicle, preparing to strip it. We came in and arrested him," said Sgt. Tim Tietjen with the Fresno Police Department.
Police took 24-year-old Michael Crabtree into custody.
Kendra says she's not related to him, despite having the same last name.
Police say in addition to the stolen car, they found several other stolen car parts in his trailer.
"It's a smaller shop but still, let's say three to five cars in a two-week period that he might be stripping, still it's quite a few," said Sgt. Tietjen.
A friend of Kendra's, who's also a mechanic, checked out her engine.
She says it's not running right.
It looks like all the oil and transmission fluid were drained, a motor mount is missing, and the ignition is damaged.
But this mom says, she's happy to deal with those problems.
"I'm very blessed I got my car back before it got all chopped up. I have to fix a few things, but it's better than having no car at all," said Kendra Crabtree.
Fresno police say thieves steal about nine cars a day throughout the city, and that's an improvement from this time last year, when thieves took off with about 16 cars every day.
