St. Paul Man Sentenced For Prolific Auto Theft Spree

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A St. Paul man was sentenced Friday to nearly four years in prison for stealing 35 cars in the span of five weeks with a flatbed tow truck.

The Anoka County Attorney's office says James Chester Jennings, 51, was convicted of five counts of auto theft, and he was ordered to pay $73,609 to the victims of his crimes.

Jennings was caught stealing a bait car on May 1, 2014 in Coon Rapids, according to the criminal complaint. An investigation found that Jennings had stolen dozens of cars from parking lots and on road sides.

He would then bring the stolen vehicles to an Anoka car crushing/recycling center.

"These car thefts hurt a lot of people, many of whom suffered out of pocket costs they can hardly afford. It is a crime that affected the victims' daily lives," Anoka County Attorney Troy Palumbo said.

Jennings is suspected of stealing many more vehicles than the 35 that were confirmed.