Man pleads guilty in theft of truck found in Wonder Lake, sentenced to probation and public service

A man accused of stealing two trucks that were found in Wonder Lake pleaded guilty Thursday to possessing one of the trucks and was sentenced to probation, public service and fines.

Jon Twist, 35, pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful possession of a stolen motor vehicle, a Class 2 felony.

In exchange for the plea, additional counts of unlawful possession of a stolen motor vehicle were dismissed, according to court testimony and McHenry County court records.

Judge Mark Gerhardt sentenced Twist to two years of probation and 50 hours of public service, and ordered him to pay $2,799 in fines and fees.

Twist initially was accused of possessing a white 2021 Cascadia Freightliner truck and a 2013 Volvo truck knowing each had been stolen, according to the indictment against him.

The vehicles were found on property in the 4500 block of Hilltop Drive in Wonder Lake, according to the criminal complaint.

In his plea, Twist admitted to being in the possession of the Cascadia Freightliner he knew was stolen. He also admitted removing and defacing the decals of MGR Freight Systems, the company that owned the truck, as well as defacing the truck’s Illinois registration plate, according to court testimony and records.

Wonder Lake police said in the complaint that Twist used green spray paint to cover the MGR logo.

MGR representatives believe their freight liner was stolen as part of an ongoing towing scheme in Chicago.

Twist has been named in civil lawsuits related to similar towing schemes in Chicago in 2019 and 2021, according to a lawsuit filed in 2022 by MGR Lease LLC.

A Cook County judge has since sided with MGR in its lawsuit awarding just over $80,000, according to court documents.

However, Violeta Radosavljevic, an MGR representative, said Thursday the company has yet to receive the settlement money.

According to the MGR lawsuit, which does not name Twist, their truck was stolen after it became stuck under an overpass March 1, 2022, in Chicago.

A tow truck service “almost immediately” showed up and offered to help.

Instead, the truck was stolen, its driver was abandoned, and MGR was thrust into a web of text messages and phone calls demanding “outrageous and completely fraudulent charges” for fictitious services, according to the lawsuit.

Radosavljevic said Thursday she is not happy with Twist’s sentence.

Saying it should have included jail time, Radosavljevic said Twist “should at least pay back money to the people he owes.”

In her suit, she named Chicago Roadside Inc. and one other individual who was not Twist.

No attorney showed up in court for the defendants named in the MGR lawsuit or the 2019 and 2020 lawsuits in which Twist is named, Matthew Prengaman, attorney representing the trucking companies in the lawsuits, said.

Prengaman also represented the trucking companies in the earlier lawsuits.

Now that Twist has been held accountable criminally it is clear he could have been named in the MGR civil lawsuit, the lawyer said.

At the time, “he was not yet criminally charged and we did not have enough information,” Prengaman said.

Twist’s attorney did not return a call for comment.