RICHFIELD VILLAGE, Ohio -- Two veteran Richfield Village police officers were suspended Monday, two weeks after they were charged with theft for stealing fencing that fell off a truck on Interstate 271.

Officers Robert Gilbert and Anthony Riviotta are due in Akron Municipal Court Dec. 16 for a pretrial hearing. If convicted, they could face up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine

Neither they nor their lawyer could be reached for comment Thursday.

Mayor Michael Lyons acknowledged Thursday that they were allowed to remain on the job for nearly two weeks after their own department brought the charges. "It was my decision. We went through a process," Lyons said in a telephone interview.

Police Chief Dale Canter described both men as capable officers who had never been in serious trouble. He said Gilbert is among the few with the skills to be rated as an advanced accident-investigation officer.

Canter declined to release details of the investigation that led to the misdemeanor charges.

He said a roll of light wire fencing fell off a tractor-trailer truck on the interstate when a strap broke, around 2 p.m. Oct. 11. Gilbert had just gotten off duty but heard radio traffic about the mishap and responded to the scene in his personal car.

Riviotta, who was off duty, also showed up there in his own personal car, but the chief would not disclose how he was alerted.

The Highway Patrol stopped the truck in Medina, and Gilbert went there to ticket the driver for transporting an unsecured load. The chief said it appears the trucker did not even know the fencing fell to the roadway.

An investigation began days later when the owner of the cargo called to find out what happened to it. The probe concluded Oct. 20, and the fencing was promptly returned, Canter said.

Gilbert joined the force in 1991. Riviotta, a part-timer, became a village police officer in 2001.

Gilbert's personnel file shows that he was suspended three times in his 20 year career: for disobeying an order, for a physical altercation with another officer, and for harassing another officer with graffiti on the desk they shared. But he also received 17 letters from grateful citizens and a commendation for his role in providing security for President George W. Bush when he visited Richfield in 2003.

The file also contains a column by The Plain Dealer's Regina Brett about how he lost his son, Robert Jr. The young Marine gunnery sergeant was shot in Afghanistan during his fifth combat deployment and later died of his wounds.

Riviotta got a two-day suspension for insubordination for not following an order swiftly enough. He also received 10 letters of gratitude from citizens, and two notes praising him for his work with the Bath Township Police Department and Ohio Highway Patrol. The University of Akron Police Academy also noted that he got a perfect score - virtually unheard of - on a difficult exam that followed a mandatory refresher course.