EXTRA CONTENT: Men accused of running Corbin chop shop plead not guilty, released from jail

Read the indictment detailing this case by clicking here.

Four men accused of running a "chop shop" in Corbin have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them, and have been released from jail by a federal judge pending the outcome of a trial early next year.

Sam C. Gilbert and H.C. McDaries, 73, both of Corbin, Ricky Lee McDaries, 50, of Big Stone Gap, Va. And Larry B. Neal, 50, of Tazwell, Tenn. were all indicted by federal grand jury in Oct. on two counts of conspiring to own, operate, maintain and control a chop shop. The indictment remained under seal until last week when the arrest of the four men was announced as the culmination of a yearlong investigation by the Criminal Enterprise Task Force of Lexington. Two others, who have yet to be named, have also been indicted as part of the conspiracy.

The four men appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert E. Weir last Tuesday for an arraignment hearing on the charges. They pleaded not guilty and were all released on their own recognizance. A jury trial in the case is set for Jan. 26, 2010 before U.S. District Judge Amul R. Tharpar.

All but Neal are currently represented by court appointed attorneys.

The indictment sheds more light on the operation the men were allegedly running.

According to the indictment, the men organized and operated the chop shop between Aug. 1, 2008 and May 14, 2009. It alleges that sometime in Aug., 2008, Gilbert was approached by an unnamed indictee about using a barn behind his house in the Laurel County portion of Corbin to use as a chop shop for stolen vehicles. Gilbert agreed and the men enlarged the barn to use it as a garage.

After work to the barn was complete, H.C. and Ricky McDaries, along with others, began using the facility to store stolen passenger vehicles and dismantle and reassemble them. They also concealed the identity of stolen vehicles, presumably by altering or obscuring the Vehicle Identification Numbers.

On April 30 of this year, the indictment alleges that Gilbert arranged for the purchase of a cab from a stolen 2005 Peterbilt truck from H.C. and Ricky McDaries. In May, Ricky McDaries got the cab from Neal, and he and H.C. McDaries delivered it to Gilbert at his garage.

On May 4, an unnamed indictee delivered a 2007 Peterbilt tractor truck to Gilbert and seven days later, delivered a stolen 2001 Peterbilt tractor truck to Gilbert again.

A day later, the indictment alleges that H.C. and Ricky McDaries delivered the hood from the same stolen 2005 Peterbilt to Gilbert.