A former Polk County police detective is now facing several charges, including operating a chop shop, after an indictment was unsealed in federal court in Rome on Thursday.

Mark Howell Sparks, waived arraignment and pleaded not guilty to six criminal charges including operating a chop shop and interfering with a federal investigation by allegedly tipping off the targets of the investigation.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Walter Johnson released Sparks on his own recognizance.

Family members and Sparks’ attorney declined to comment after the arraignment.

“We don’t know much about it at this time,” said Spark’s attorney Jimmy Berry.

According to the indictment:

The 39 year-old former officer is accused of advising targets of the investigation that a cooperating informant identified by the initials R.C. “was cooperating with the FBI and local law enforcement officials and that R.C. was wearing a recording device…”

Sparks also attempted to dissuade the informant to completely report to federal investigators asking R.C. to only report to a person identified in the indictment as J.L.S.

He is additionally accused of possessing a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck with the intent to sell that vehicle even though he allegedly knew the identification number had been removed and altered.

Sparks is also charged with possessing a GMC truck frame and the cab of a 2000 Chevrolet Silverado removed or altered vehicle identification numbers.

The former Polk County Police Department officer was charged along with several others in what the Georgia Bureau of Investigation called a stolen vehicle ring based in Polk County.

Those involved in the ring were allegedly trafficking stolen vehicles and altering vehicle identification numbers in order to resell stolen cars and trucks for large profits.

Current and former officers helped the enterprise by providing “law enforcement-sensitive information to individuals involved,” according to the GBI.

Former Polk County Sheriff’s Deputies Kenneth Gravett and Michael Robinson were both prosecuted on federal charges as well. Gravett pleaded guilty to mail fraud and was sentenced to 10 months supervised release and ordered to pay $12,517.02 fine.

Robinson still awaits trail on fraud and firearms charges.