Bad timing for 2 accused in truck theft

Two Carpentersville men who are accused of stealing a red truck and attached snowplow were nabbed when they committed a traffic offense in front of a police officer just as the theft was being reported on the radio, police said.

Antonio Lopez, 31, of 117 San Juan Road, and Armando Garcia-Rodriguez, 29, of 406 Maple Ave., were charged with possession of a stolen motor vehicle and possession of a converted motor vehicle, police said.

The owner of the truck told police he awoke at 2:45 a.m. Monday to find that the vehicle was missing from the 100 block of Pueblo Road.

A police officer on patrol only two blocks away noticed that a red truck in front of her squad car turned from Amarillo Drive onto Mora Road without signaling -- at the same time the radio was relaying the theft report.

Driver Lopez and passenger Garcia-Rodriguez were taken into custody, police said, and the truck's owner identified his vehicle and said he didn't know the two men.

Lopez and Garcia-Rodriguez were released on their own recognizance with court dates on Dec. 31 at the Kane County Judicial Center.