Two New Castle teenagers were arrested Sunday, accused of repeatedly stealing an SUV in the middle of the night, taking it on joyrides and returning it to the owners' home.

Andrew Harrison (left) and Daniel Rojas, both 18, are charged

with felony theft and other offenses

The owners of the 2003 Acura MDX became suspicious when they noticed the smell of tobacco and gasoline and that the gas gauge seemed to fluctuate.

The owners also set a trap inside the vehicle that led to the pair's arrest after a month-long investigation, according to police records.

Andrew Harrison, 18, of the 900 block of Young St., and Daniel Rojas, 18, of the 900 block of Gray St., each was charged with felony theft and four other offenses.

Rojas, the reported driver, also was charged with leaving the scene of a collision and another traffic violation, said New Castle City police Lt. Adam Brams.

It started several months ago when the teens were rattling car doors to find an unlocked vehicle and came upon the unlocked MDX parked on West Third Street, police said.

There also was a spare set of keys inside, Brams said.

Since then, the pair repeatedly took the SUV on joyrides and returned it to its original parking space -- while keeping the spare keys, police said.

In September, they returned the SUV with an estimated $1,750 in damage.

The owners reported the damaged to police. On Dec. 13, they also found a broken passenger side mirror, valued at about $400.

Meanwhile, the owners were growing suspicious about odd odors in the SUV.

At one point, they returned it to a dealer thinking there was a gas leak, only to be told that someone spilled gasoline on the seat and rear carpet.

The victim's husband then decided to "take a motion sensor from the home alarm system and place it in the SUV," police said.

Just after midnight March 31 -- 30 minutes after he installed it -- the alarm activated and the owners reported that the vehicle had been stolen from their Old New Castle home.

Responding Officer Tina Shughart spotted the SUV and tried to stop it in the 1200 block of Delaware St.

The driver and passenger pulled over, bailed out and ran.

Brams said the officer got a good description of the pair and thought she recognized them, which led to their arrest Sunday.

Both suspects were committed to Young Correctional Institution after failing to post $3,000 bail each.