An SUV was discovered submerged in a pond in Antioch Saturday after it had been allegedly taken hours earlier by a man whose girlfriend said she never lets him drive her car because his license is suspended.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded around 3:10 a.m. Saturday to the 25100 block of West Claridan Avenue in unincorporated Antioch for a report of a vehicle taken without consent.
Lake County Sheriff’s Office Chief Christopher Covelli said Justin T. Molina, 20, of Kansasville, Wisconsin, who also stays at the residence, took the vehicle without the owner’s consent.
Molina lives with his girlfriend, who owns the car, according to Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Colleen McConnell.
The girlfriend was out at a bar with friends while Molina, who is too young to go to bars, repeatedly called and texted her asking for updates, McConnell said.
The girlfriend’s mother, who lives across the street, saw Molina get into the car parked outside and drive off, McConnell said.
The mother told her daughter, who called police.
The girlfriend told deputies she never allows Molina to drive her car because his license is suspended and she did not give him permission to take it, McConnell said.
Sheriff’s deputies and Antioch police officers searched for the car but were unable to find it.
Covelli said Molina later returned to the residence without the car.
McConnell said the girlfriend told deputies that Molina placed the car keys on the counter when he returned and said, “I know I’m going to jail.”
Molina denied ever taking the car when deputies spoke with him, McConnell said.
Covelli said Molina also indicated he had parked the car somewhere nearby and his accounts of what happened were conflicting.
The Antioch Fire Department and Antioch Police Department were dispatched around 8 a.m. Saturday to the area of Route 173 and Tiffany Road in Antioch for a water rescue, according to fire department radio traffic.
A police officer who arrived first reported an SUV was in the water but appeared to be unoccupied, radio traffic indicated.
A fire department diver was deployed to search the vehicle.
No one was found inside the vehicle and no injuries were reported.
Covelli said the sheriff’s office was notified around 8:15 a.m. that Antioch police and firefighters were at the scene of a vehicle submerged in the pond.
The vehicle, a Dodge Journey, matched the description of the car reported taken earlier that morning, Covelli said.
Deputies responded to the scene to assist. The Dodge was removed from the pond, towed and processed for evidence, Covelli said.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office approved charges against Molina of criminal trespass to vehicles and driving on a suspended license, both Class A misdemeanors.
Covelli said additional charges against Molina are possible.
Molina was taken into custody and appeared for a First Appearance Court hearing Saturday morning.
Molina was on pretrial release in a driving under the influence case at the time.
Court records show Lake Zurich police charged Molina in March 2025 with two counts of driving under the influence and one count of unlawful possession of cannabis by a driver, all Class A misdemeanors, along with speeding 26 to 34 mph over the limit, a Class B misdemeanor, and two petty offenses.
McConnell said that Molina’s pretrial release conditions in that case barred him from driving without a valid license and ordered him to obey all laws.
Court records show Molina failed to appear for a court date in the DUI case in July 2025, which resulted in a warrant.
He was most recently released with pretrial conditions in the DUI case on December 27, McConnell said.
Molina was arrested May 16 in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, for domestic battery, resisting a peace officer and disorderly conduct while on pretrial release.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition Monday morning to revoke Molina’s pretrial release in the DUI case, arguing no conditions could ensure he would not commit another crime.
McConnell said Molina was on “the highest level of pretrial release” and had been charged in two new cases since the DUI case was filed.
“The defendant’s blatant abusive and erratic behavior towards the victim in the case shows that she also needs to be protected as well,” McConnell said.
Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim found Monday afternoon that Molina had violated his pretrial release and ordered him detained pending trial following a pretrial release revocation hearing.
Molina pleaded guilty on August 19, 2024, to resisting a peace officer, a Class A misdemeanor, following an arrest by Round Lake Beach police, court records show.
He was sentenced to 12 months of conditional discharge, 100 hours of public service, four days in jail and a $75 fine.
The conditions of that sentence included no driving, court records show. Prosecutors dismissed a retail theft charge in that case.
Prosecutors filed petitions to revoke that conditional discharge in May 2025 and July 2025 after Molina was charged in the DUI case, McConnell said.
Molina is scheduled to appear in court again on October 5 for a status hearing on the new charges, a pretrial hearing in the DUI case and a status hearing on the petition to revoke his conditional discharge.