After a 10- month investigation, St. Petersburg Police detectives arrested two men for committing 30 crimes in St. Petersburg, and more than 20 additional crimes throughout Pinellas County.

Between July 2019 and early 2020, James Nethery, age 38, and Jason Canady, age 39, stole more than 25 classic cars and, in many cases, stripped them down to use the parts in other vehicles. Detectives say most of the chop shop operation occurred in the backyard of a home on 13th Avenue South.

In several cases, they used the stolen vehicles to commit commercial burglaries. They broke into more than 30 businesses throughout the county, where they stole items such as: lawn equipment, stereo equipment, fishing poles, shoes, and cigarettes.

Nethery and Canady were already in jail on other charges. They face the following charges for this crime pattern:

James Dylan Nethery

• Residential Burglaries – 2 counts
• Commercial Burglaries-5 counts
• Grand Theft Auto-15 counts

Jason Lee Canady

• Commercial Burglaries- 1 Count
• Grand Theft Auto-5 counts
• Dealing in Stolen Property- 1 count
• Crimes related to the Alteration of Vin Numbers-1 count

Besides the 30 cases in St. Petersburg, the two men are also charged in more than 20 additional similar cases in 6 other jurisdictions throughout Pinellas County.

St. Petersburg detectives worked closely with investigators from the Pinellas Sheriff’s Office, Pinellas Park Police, Clearwater Police, Largo Police, Kenneth City Police, and Port Richey Police.