A man whose shoplifting arrest at Juban Crossing Shopping Mall in 2022 led to the discovery of a theft ring targeting heavy equipment in multiple parishes was sentenced to 115 months in federal prison on Monday.
Christopher Byerley, 45, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport a stolen motor vehicle, possession of fifteen or more unauthorized access devices, conspiracy to traffic a firearm and receipt of a trafficked firearm, possession of an unregistered silencer, and altering, removing, or obliterating a vehicle identification number.
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Following his prison sentence, Byerly must serve three years of supervised release and pay $127,000 in reparations.
Byerley and three other co-conspirators carried out a concerted plan across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas to steal, use, or sell stolen and altered vehicles such as tractors, excavators, forklifts, and a pickup truck. The total value exceeded $250,000.
The scam also included phony documentation, a “chop shop” for equipment disassembly and tampering, a bogus business front to sell stolen equipment, changing VINs, and utilizing GPS signal blocks, vehicle plate flippers, and fake driver’s licenses to mask their activities. To avoid detection, the group used more than 400 different identities and access devices.
The Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office searched Byerley’s stolen pickup truck as part of a shoplifting arrest at Juban Crossing Shopping Center, uncovering various documents, records, emails, text messages, and images that led law enforcement to the plot and far-reaching criminal business.
