Palmetto Police Department executes search warrant on Slicks Garage

PALMETTO -- The Palmetto Police Department on Thursday executed a search warrant on Slicks Garage in Palmetto.

As of Thursday, 15 people have made complaints about Slicks Garage, Palmetto Police Chief Scott Tyler said. The police are searching for cars and parts owned by complainants in addition to business records that may relate to fraud charges, Tyler said.

"I want to be clear that no charges have been filed," Tyler said. "We are not shutting down the business and after the search warrant is finished it will be turned back over to the business owners."

The Palmetto Police Department is forwarding information to the state, Tyler said.

The state has not "issued information or any kind of warrant yet, but the state seems to agree with us that this seems to be criminal activity," Tyler said.

Tyler anticipated the department would be at Slicks, 923 Fifth St. W., most of the day because it is a large property and because of the number of cars and parts on the property.

Separate from the search warrant, Slicks customer Dennis Lemley, 68, filed a lawsuit against Slicks Garage Rod and Custom LLC on Thursday. The lawsuit seeks to restore Lemley's 1966 Plymouth Sport Fury Convertible back to his possession after he took it to Slicks in August 2014 for paint work and other cosmetic restoration, installation of new carburetors and work on the hood, doors and trunk of the car.

The lawsuit says Lemley paid Slicks Garage $16,500 for the work and Lemley is fearful Slicks Garage "is about to relocate the Plymouth Sport Fury from the Palmetto, Florida shop to the new shop in Miami-Dade county, Florida." The business owners, Christian "Slick" Humphrey and Jane Hunter, recently opened another garage in Miami.

The Plymouth was functional and drivable when he took it to Slicks in Palmetto and Lemley told the Bradenton Herald the car was quickly disassembled.

"They didn't mess around," Lemley said. "They started tearing things apart and I thought, 'This won't take any time at all.'" Lemley said he requested to retrieve his car several times and was unable to do so.

"Every week it was more excuses," Lemley said.

The complaint also alleges Slicks Garage "has

been moving equipment from the Palmetto, Florida shop to the new shop in Miami" and the building in Palmetto, including contents, is listed for sale.

Lemley isn't as interested in the car as he once was after all of the pain caused by attempting to restore it.

"I don't even know if my parts are there; there's no interior in the car and all that trim work, I don't know how I'd ever replace that," Lemley said. "It's a 1966 Plymouth; you don't just go down to the store and buy that stuff. I would just like to get my car out of there and take it to a reputable place and sell it."

Humphrey and Hunter were not immediately available for comment Thursday.

Janelle O'Dea, business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7095 or follow her on Twitter @jayohday.

This story was originally published January 7, 2016 at 11:59 PM with the headline "Palmetto Police Department executes search warrant on Slicks Garage ."