MOSES LAKE – Alert citizens helped stop two men who  allegedly stole a truck and then trespassed and damaged property at a rural Moses Lake farm shop.

A citizen noticed a suspicious flatbed truck and two men inside a farm shop near County Roads M-NE and 9-NE on Friday. The citizen, whose mother owns the property, confronted the two men.

They ran away on foot. The citizen called 9-1-1 while a friend of the citizen kept an eye on the two men's where abouts.

Deputies arrived within minutes and, after a brief search, found one of the men hiding under a hay tarp in the 9900 block of Road M-NE. They found the second man hiding in the open crawl space of an outbuilding at 9332 Road M-NE. Both men surrendered without incident.

“An alert property owner and his friend played the key roles in stopping this alleged crime,” said Sheriff Tom Jones.

Matthew Low, 23, of Soap Lake, and Dylan Timpani, 23, of Ephrata were arrested on suspicion of possession of a stolen vehicle, two counts of second degree trespassing, second degree vehicle prowling, and third degree malicious mischief.

Low and Timpani were lodged in the Grant County Jail. The stolen 1990 Chevrolet flatbed was impounded.