The car crusher

[scipio_usmc]

People seem to be unaware that a car can't simply be crushed and then sold without any records being kept. In order to prevent thieves stealing cars and giving them new VINs of cars that have been crushed, the government requires notification of the VIN number of any crushed cars that are purchased as scrap metal.

This means that if Steven had crushed the Rav then the VIN would have been reported as having been crushed at Avery Salvage when Chuck and Earl sold the scrap. Far from helping conceal from the authorities that her vehicle never left Avery Salvage this would have revealed it had been crushed there. Why would they have her vehicle at all let alone have crushed a perfectly good vehicle for scrap?

Hiding the Rav hoping no one notices it and lying about her leaving the property is vastly superior to crushing it and giving away that it her vehicle never left thus she never left.

 

[Dnp2be]

Just MOO, but I think placing a vehicle in their own salvage yard to hide it is just about as dumb as it would have been to crush it. It's a pretty obvious place to hide a vehicle especially considering that a lawsuit was going on and all the attention that wa already surrounding Mr Avery. There's plenty of better ways to dispose of a vehicle than hide it in your own backyard per se.

 

[scipio_usmc]

Just MOO, but I think placing a vehicle in their own salvage yard to hide it is just about as dumb as it would have been to crush it. It's a pretty obvious place to hide a vehicle especially considering that a lawsuit was going on and all the attention that wa already surrounding Mr Avery. There's plenty of better ways to dispose of a vehicle than hide it in your own backyard per se.

It is vastly superior to hide it in a junkyard that would have to be thoroughly searched to locate it than to crush it. But for Pam searching there it would still not have been located on 11/5. Avery was correct, police did not immediately decide to go search the junkyard for it. Of the two choices the later had the potential to escape notice while crushing it would ensure police would find out about his guilt.

Hiding it provided him with the option to wait until the case died down before thinking of a final solution when there would not be as much attention focused on locating the vehicle. Driving the vehicle when there was so much scrutiny searching for it would have been extremely risky. Not only could police notice it and pull him over but also other people were on notice to look for it and could have recognized him driving it or called police about the vehicle as he was driving. Moreover he would need an accomplice who would drive with him and take him back home after a location for dumping it were selected.

There are people who keep vehicles of victims in their own garage or at least on their own property there is no way to argue that it is not something people do, but Steven feared his garage would be searched and he had a luxury most don't- he had a junkyard adjacent to his home so could hide it there with ease and for the first few days no one noticed it.

 

[Dru603]

People seem to be unaware that a car can't simply be crushed and then sold without any records being kept. In order to prevent thieves stealing cars and giving them new VINs of cars that have been crushed, the government requires notification of the VIN number of any crushed cars that are purchased as scrap metal.

This means that if Steven had crushed the Rav then the VIN would have been reported as having been crushed at Avery Salvage when Chuck and Earl sold the scrap. Far from helping conceal from the authorities that her vehicle never left Avery Salvage this would have revealed it had been crushed there. Why would they have her vehicle at all let alone have crushed a perfectly good vehicle for scrap?

Hiding the Rav hoping no one notices it and lying about her leaving the property is vastly superior to crushing it and giving away that it her vehicle never left thus she never left.

It is vastly superior to hide it in a junkyard that would have to be thoroughly searched to locate it than to crush it. But for Pam searching there it would still not have been located on 11/5. Avery was correct, police did not immediately decide to go search the junkyard for it. Of the two choices the later had the potential to escape notice while crushing it would ensure police would find out about his guilt.

Hiding it provided him with the option to wait until the case died down before thinking of a final solution when there would not be as much attention focused on locating the vehicle. Driving the vehicle when there was so much scrutiny searching for it would have been extremely risky. Not only could police notice it and pull him over but also other people were on notice to look for it and could have recognized him driving it or called police about the vehicle as he was driving. Moreover he would need an accomplice who would drive with him and take him back home after a location for dumping it were selected.

There are people who keep vehicles of victims in their own garage or at least on their own property there is no way to argue that it is not something people do, but Steven feared his garage would be searched and he had a luxury most don't- he had a junkyard adjacent to his home so could hide it there with ease and for the first few days no one noticed it.

I'm not sure about every state but my family has owned and operated and salvage yard over 60 yrs and have a crusher take cars at least twice a month and they don't require a single VIN. I agree they should. I'm not saying he's innocent I'm just saying not every state requires VINs with car crushers.

 

[Deleted member 39678]

Looks like there is a system called NMVTIS which stands for "National Motor Vehicle Title Information System" which keeps track of salvaged vehicles and is used by LE in criminal investigations.

Law enforcement investigations have shown that criminals involved in domestic auto theft enterprises often perpetrate violent crimes, such as homicide, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and terrorism. The National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) is, among other things, a tool that assists local, state, and federal law enforcement in investigating, deterring, and preventing vehicle-related crimes.

Here is a notification explaining how NMVTIS relates to crushed and shredded cars. Wisconsin participates in the NMVTIS.

Shredders and other recyclers who receive vehicles in a crushed or condensed state that generally would prevent VINs from being identified are not required to report these specific vehicles to the operator if they determine that their supplier has already reported the vehicle to NMVTIS. Shredders and other recyclers who rely upon this exception to reporting should maintain documentation supporting their determination. Acceptable methods of making this determination include:

Law Enforcement

https://vehiclehistory.bja.ojp.gov/...61/files/media/document/shredderreporting.pdf

 

[proudfootz]

So, the crusher couldn't be operated without entering a valid VIN?

 

[scipio_usmc]

I'm not sure about every state but my family has owned and operated and salvage yard over 60 yrs and have a crusher take cars at least twice a month and they don't require a single VIN. I agree they should. I'm not saying he's innocent I'm just saying not every state requires VINs with car crushers.

The issue is what the state where Avery Salvage was operating does. They require the vin being reported when Avery Salvage sold the scrap. Had he scrapped her vehicle his brothers would have reported the VIN when they sold the metal scrap and he would have been toast because they sure as hell would not have taken the blame.