Police: 'Coincidence' sinks man accused of stealing guns near St. Charles

A cleaning crew accidentally set off a burglar alarm at a St. Charles industrial park Tuesday and in the process inadvertently helped police catch a 25-year-old man accused of robbing his parents' house of seven guns.

St. Charles police said "pure coincidence" led to the arrest of Anthony Caruso, who was waiting for a taxi and then tried to escape by jumping into an algae-filled retention pond when police arrived to check on the burglar alarm.

"He was waiting in front of the business when the alarm went off and he had nothing to do with the alarm," Deputy Chief David Kintz said.

Police responded to an alarm at 6:04 p.m. on the 3800 block of Commerce Drive on the city's far east side. An officer pulled up and saw Caruso with a large duffel bag on wheels and a drawstring backpack, Kintz said.

Caruso stepped away from the duffel bag and began to walk away when the officer told him to stop. Caruso took off running, and jumped into a retention pond in an effort to escape.

Two officers went into the pond after Caruso, who eventually was found to be in possession of four small packets of suspected heroin - three in the backpack and one in his wallet, Kintz said.

"Our guys were a little wet and green and covered in pond stuff after getting him," Kintz said. "They were wet up to their waists and covered in green muck."

Police found three rifles and four handguns in the duffel bag. Caruso is accused of burglarizing his parents home in an unincorporated area near the industrial park, authorities said.

Kintz said the cleaning crew's mistake was a lucky break for police in the arrest of Caruso, during which a taxi did show up to get him. "It happened to be pure coincidence. He was waiting for a taxi," Kintz said.

Caruso, who is homeless, faces numerous felony charges, the most severe being armed violence, a felony that carries a prison term of six to 30 years with no chance of probation.

Caruso was on parole for a July 2015 felony charge of possession of a controlled substance to which he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to boot camp, according to Kane County court records.

Caruso was being held at the Kane County jail on $100,000 bail, and is due in court on July 19.