Police are looking for a dognapper who allegedly stole a Shih Tsu in broad daylight outside a house in Brooklyn last month.
The NYPD released a video of the suspect who allegedly grabbed the dog in front of the victim’s home in the vicinity of Jerome Street and Pitkin Avenue in East New York at around 9:30 a.m. Monday, March 18.
The dog, called Romeo Rivera, was let out of the house for a bathroom break by his 74-year-old owner at the time of the theft. The suspect allegedly grabbed the white pooch and took off with it going southbound on Jerome Street toward Pitkin Avenue.
The suspect is described as a male with a light complexion and medium build. He was last seen wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, gray sweatpants, black sneakers and a red baseball hat.
Crime is largely down year-to-date in East New York’s 75th Precinct, according to Police Department data. Reports of burglary in the area were down almost 44% as of April 14, when the most recent data is available, with 71 incidents so far this year — down from 126 during the same time last year.
Most of the other seven major crime categories — including murder, rape, grand larceny and grand larceny auto — are also down. Robberies and felony assaults, however, are slightly up in the precinct.
Anyone with information in regard to last month’s dognapping is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) @NYPDTips.
This story first appeared on Brooklyn Paper’s sister publication amNewYork Metro
