WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) – Waterbury police say a man accused of fueling a major regional car theft spree in the mid-1990s with a string of chop shops has been caught after years on the run.

Alfredo “Eddie” Gonzalez, who was wanted on warrants from 1996 and earlier, faces dozens of charges. They include larceny, operating a chop shop, abandoning a vehicle and changing a vehicle’s identification number.

The 43-year-old was located and taken into custody recently in Chicopee, Mass., and is due in Waterbury Superior Court on Oct. 15.

Police say Gonzalez disappeared in 1996. It was the second time he had eluded police on pending charges as the rash of car thefts in Waterbury averaged more than three each day in the mid-1990s.

Information was not immediately available Sunday on whether Gonzalez had an attorney.


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