Stolen Alameda Dog May Have Been Abandoned In Stockton
ALAMEDA (BCN) -- A man who was arrested last week on suspicion of stealing a Yorkshire terrier from its 80-year-old owner during a purse snatch in Alameda on Oct. 30 has changed his story about what he did with the dog, a police lieutenant said Tuesday.
Christopher Perkins, 19, was arrested Thursday and initially said he sold the dog, named Deuce, to someone in the Stockton area. He now says he released or gave away the dog in the area of Holiday Park in Stockton on the evening of Nov. 2, Alameda police Lt. Sean Lynch said.
Deuce was stolen around 2 p.m. on Oct. 30 when two men approached the dog's elderly owner as she was walking near Encinal Avenue and Fountain Street, police said.
One man simulated a gun and demanded the woman's purse and dog. She refused to hand them over, so one suspect grabbed Deuce as the other wrestled the purse from her.
Investigators believe Perkins, who has residences in both Oakland and Stockton, might have gotten rid of the dog after he "became aware of the press coverage" of the case, Lynch said.
Detectives have traveled to Stockton to pursue leads and have talked to various animal shelter and veterinary hospitals in the area, but the dog has not been found.
The robbers' vehicle, a blue 1995 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera, has been impounded. The second robber remained outstanding as of Tuesday afternoon, Lynch said.
Anyone who recently bought a light brown and silver male Yorkshire terrier weighing about 7 pounds, or has any information about the case, is asked to contact police at (510) 337-8340.
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