Three people were arrested and charged with felony burglary and theft after they allegedly stole a puppy from a parked car in Ellsworth.
They also have been charged with shoplifting at the local Walmart, where they took the dog and allegedly stole $100 worth of pet supplies, according to police. The dog, a longhaired dachshund, was not harmed and was reunited with its owner a few hours after it was taken.
Jasmine Gauthier, 22, of Fryeburg, Jordan Burnell, 23, of Ellsworth and Marietta Lawson, 70, of Ellsworth were arrested Friday on class C charges of burglary of a motor vehicle and theft, according to Troy Bires, interim chief of the Ellsworth Police Department. The theft of the dog is considered a felony because its estimated value is $2,500, he said.
Bires said each also was charged with class E theft for allegedly shoplifting a dog bowl, a dog bed and a couple other pet-related items from Walmart. He said he did not know the dog’s age but that it was “not very old.”
Police responded to Walmart on Friday afternoon after the owner posted information about the dog-napping on Facebook. Walmart customers who saw the owner’s post recognized the dog as the alleged thieves were carrying it around the store and called police, Bires said.
“When someone posts a picture of a stolen dog or an abused dog, we get a million responses,” he said.
The owner told police she left the dog for a few minutes in her vehicle in a parking lot on Water Street, but the engine and air conditioning were running and the doors were locked. When she returned to the car around noon, it was unlocked and the dog was gone, Bires said she told police.
Bires said it is unclear how the alleged thieves got into the vehicle, but speculated that the dog may have stepped on an unlock button after the owner walked off. He said there was no damage to the vehicle.
City Councilor Steve O’Halloran praised the department Monday night for safely reuniting the dog and its owner.
“This is equal to a child abduction in our city,” O’Halloran said at the council’s monthly meeting. He then led a round of applause.
“It is the power of social media and Facebook,” Councilor Nancy Smith said.
