Multiple suspects are on the run in Colorado following a bizarre heist in which a male allegedly faked a seizure to distract workers at a pet store while his accomplice swiped two bulldog puppies worth $4,299 each from a display case, police say.
The theft was captured on video at Perfect Pets in Centennial on Sunday afternoon. One of the two dogs was later returned to the store by a Good Samaritan after she “purchased the puppy for $1,500 from a street vendor in north Denver,” the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office announced early Tuesday.
“The suspect who allegedly faked the seizure was arrested at the pet store by sheriff deputies. His name is Timothy Davis, 37. He’s facing charges of conspiracy to commit a felony, theft, and drug possession,” the sheriff’s office said. “Deputies are still searching for the other three suspects.”
Footage of the heist begins with a man falling over backwards while looking at a display case of animals. A woman who appears to be a mother with her two young children and a store employee then walk over to tend to him.
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As they are looking over the man, another male suspect is seen walking to the back of the store and grabbing two puppies out of a display case.
“Hey, what are you doing? Hey, no, stop, stop!” one of the employees is heard saying as the suspect then races for the store’s exit.
The video shows the suspect knocking over one of the store’s employees as he fled the scene.
“An employee tried to tackle him, and he fell to the ground dropping the puppies. He managed to get up, pick up the two puppies and run out the front door with another male,” the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office said. “A gold Cadillac Escalade then pulled up to the front of the store, both suspects got inside the vehicle, and it took off. There is no description of a fourth suspect who was driving the Cadillac, who we believe is a female.”
Police said early Tuesday that “a Good Samaritan returned one of the stolen puppies” Monday night “after seeing a news story about the theft.” They released photos of store employees embracing the dog.
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“She told deputies that she purchased the puppy for $1,500 from a street vendor in north Denver. She immediately called the store when she recognized her puppy matched the photos in the story,” the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office said. “Perfect Pets is grateful for being reunited with the dog and plans to give her a reward.”
Investigators described two of the suspects on the run as a “black male who was wearing a large black coat and sweatpants,” and a “white or Hispanic male who was wearing a blue and white beanie-style hat and had brown hair,” who was seen grabbing the puppies in the video.
The gold Cadillac Escalade is described as having “no license plates and heavily tinted windows.”
Perfect Pets, on its website, said it is an “independent, family owned and operated pet store” that specializes in puppies.
Bianca Larsen, the manager of the store, told KDVR that she had been planning to sell one of the stolen puppies to a friend and the other to a fellow pet store owner.
“It’s sad that you know, this puppy doesn’t get to go live this amazing life with a deserving family and home instead because someone doesn’t have any morals,” she said.
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