CHITTENANGO, NY - A Chittenango man has been charged with lying to police after he reported his vehicle had been stolen from his residence in September, Madison County sheriff's deputies said today.

Robert W. Kimball, 54 of Chittenango, has been charged with third-degree falsely reporting an incident, a misdemeanor, after police said he reported his 2008 H3 Hummer had been stolen from his residence.

Deputies said they determined through an investigation that Kimball intentionally submerged his car in a pond on Oxbow Road in Cicero to avoid loan payments.

Kimball will appear in court Nov. 1.

Deputies said they had been investigating an attempted home break-in on Route 5 in Sullivan in September when a neighbor advised police their vehicle was missing, which touched off a search. The car was subsequently discovered in the pond.