Dog theft leads to truck theft

ALBANY COUNTY — Two Rochester men stole a dog in Guilderland, fled to New Scotland and stole a truck, and were later arrested in Guilderland, according to police.

Robert J. Genovese, 30, of 89 White Rd., Rochester, and Randy M. Whitten, 42, of 16151 Canal Rd., Holley, burglarized a house on Johnston Road in Guilderland, taking with them a dog, police say.

The pair drove in their van to the Voorheesville Diner, where police found them after the burglary was reported to Guilderland Police, said state police spokesperson Maureen Tuffey.  Genovese and Whitten then fled on foot, leaving the dog in the van and losing the pursuing police officers near the Hannaford grocery store in the village, according to the Albany County Sheriff’s Office.

They then burglarized a house on Circle Drive in Voorheesville and stole a 2010 Chevy Silverado truck, according to the sheriff’s office.  The owner of the house from which the truck was stolen arrived home and reported the vehicle as stolen.

Police soon found the truck near the McDonald’s at the intersection of Route 20 and Church Road in Guilderland, according to the sheriff’s office; the truck was unharmed.

Genovese and Whitten were arrested and charged with second-degree burglary and third-degree grand larceny, both felonies.  They were arraigned in Voorheesville’s village court and remanded to Albany County’s jail without bail.

— Saranac Hale Spencer