Cops: Thief nabbed after man spots wife's stolen car

A 17-year-old thief was arrested after a man spotted his wife's stolen car on the Hempstead Turnpike, police said.

"Talk about bad luck on his part: The husband sees the car," a Nassau police spokesman said.

The 2005 Ford Expedition was stolen about 1:50 a.m. on New Year's Day while it was idling outside a relative's home on Park Avenue in Roosevelt, according to police.

The wife, 38, was warming up the car and left her purse and wallet inside, police said.

Dewayne Green, of Roosevelt, was arrested Thursday after officers stopped the car on Stewart Avenue in Hicksville. He was charged with grand larceny and driving without a license, police said.

Green was to be arraigned Friday in First District Court, Hempstead.

Police said he told officers where to find the missing purse and wallet, including credit cards, that he had tossed along the Southern State Parkway in Roosevelt.

The items were recovered, police said.