2 arrested in Bartlett for tapping fire hydrant

Two men were caught filling up a tanker truck with water from a Bartlett fire hydrant, police said.

The pair had attached a hose to the hydrant near Brewster Creek Boulevard and Stearns Road Sunday and had loaded about 6,500 gallons of water onto the truck before they were stopped by police, who had been notified by a witness.

James K. Freeman, 44, of Wayne, and Robert L. Casford, 41, of LaSalle, Ill., were charged with theft and criminal damage to firefighting equipment, Bartlett police said.

The pair each posted $100 bond and are due back in DuPage County court July 28.

Opening a fire hydrant without authorization is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail.