PUBLIC SAFETY

Two Keizer residents accused of using Dallas auto shop to steal customers’ cars

A month-long investigation by Dallas police led to the arrest of two Keizer residents who are accused of stealing customers’ cars through their Dallas auto body shop. 

The owners of Kameleon Collision used their business to steal four cars, police said. 

Prosecutors charged Armando Marquez-Zacarias, 44, and Gloria G. Nicolas, 42, with four counts of unlawful use of a motor vehicle on Sept. 25 in Polk County Circuit Court. Dallas police detectives worked with Keizer police to make the arrest and recover the stolen cars.

On Oct. 1, Polk County prosecutors also charged Marquez-Zacarias and Nicolas with one count of aggravated theft and two counts of theft each. 

The investigation began on Aug. 28 after Dallas police received reports from two customers that Kameleon Collision’s owners removed their cars from the shop and stopped answering the customers’ phone calls.

Multiple customers tried to contact the shop owners for updates about their cars, but calls began going unanswered and the business was evicted from its building at 201 N.E. Polk Station Rd., according to a police statement. The shop had been in Dallas since March 2022. 

One customer told police his car had been at the auto shop since September 2022, according to the probable cause affidavit. 

During the investigation, police received two more reports from Kameleon Collision customers that their vehicles were stolen. Customers had dropped their cars off at the shop for repairs and paint work, the statement said.

Detectives said the thefts caused customers a lot of sadness and frustration due to the personal value of their vehicles.

“Every owner said their vehicle was in worse condition than when it was dropped off,” Dallas police spokeswoman Alyson Roberson said in an email. “Some of these vehicles have been long-term projects and it was emotional for them.” 

Detectives learned that Nicolas and Marquez-Zacarias were likely working at a shop in the Aumsville or Turner area after being evicted from their Dallas location. They began surveillance on the owners’ Keizer residence.

According to court records, Nicolas and Marques-Zacarias live at the same address.

The four stolen vehicles were recovered by police at the owners’ house and the house of Marquez-Zacarias’ brother. 

Nicolas and Marquez-Zacarias are scheduled to appear in Polk County Circuit Court on Oct. 16. 

Dallas detectives said the shop’s business activities are still under investigation and encourage any potential victims to come forward.

Marquez-Zacarias faces charges of sexual abuse and sodomy in an unrelated case in Marion County. His trial in that case is set for March of 2025. 

Contact reporter Madeleine Moore: [email protected].

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Madeleine Moore is working as a reporter at Salem Reporter through the University of Oregon’s Charles Snowden internship program. She came to Salem after graduating from the University of Oregon in June 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.