Cops: Lake Grove man charged after stealing Port Jeff Village truck

A Port Jefferson Village truck with a satellite tracker was stolen Monday but Suffolk police caught the thief about 40 minutes later in West Babylon, authorities said.

The Ford pickup was taken about 2:10 p.m. from the rear of village hall on West Broadway, Suffolk police said.

The parks department truck with a Port Jefferson Village seal was parked unlocked at a municipal barn, with keys inside, while workers were on their lunch in the barn’s break room, said Mayor Margot Garant.

The truck had a GPS, Garant said. Fifth Precinct officers soon spotted the pickup going west on Sunrise Highway and followed it, police said.

Eventually, Anthony Bruno, 31, of Lake Grove, was on the radar of a contingent of officers from the highway patrol, aviation and the First, Third and Fifth precincts, police said.

The truck was stopped about 2:50 p.m. in West Babylon, on the eastbound Sunrise Highway service road near Hubbards Path, police said.

Bruno was charged with criminal possession of stolen property, resisting arrest and third-degree unlawful fleeing of a police officer.

Police did not release other details, such as the speed and how the driver was stopped.