Thieves fake seizure to steal puppies from Colorado pet store
Photo by Chris Melzer/picture alliance via Getty Images
(CENTENNIAL, Colo.) — Colorado pet store suffered its second robbery this month on Friday as thieves faked a medical emergency in order to steal two puppies, according to the owner of the store.
Perfect Pets, located in Centennial, Colorado, has been the target of multiple puppy thefts, with the latest occurring on Friday at approximately 2 p.m., said owner Jens Larsen.
Larsen told ABC News three gentlemen walked into the store, looking “sketchy,” and one of them appeared to be on drugs and “talking belligerent to employees.”
The man suddenly fell to the ground, with other customers and store employees quickly rushing to his side, shown in video surveillance footage.
Larsen said it “looked like he was having a seizure” and an employee began to call 911.
As the other people crowded around the man, Larsen said another man walked toward the back of the store, opened a case of puppies and grabbed two male English bulldogs.
An employee spotted the thief with the two puppies and workers tried to block him from leaving, even tackling his leg before one worker was kicked in the face, Larsen said.
The criminal tripped and fell to the ground, dropping the puppies, but he was able to scoop them up and run away, Larsen told ABC News.
Multiple people chased after him, but were unsuccessful in catching the culprit, Larsen said. The suspect was able to escape in a gold Cadillac Escalade, Larsen said.
“The guy doesn’t care,” Larsen said. “He’s not stealing merchandise, he is stealing living animals and doesn’t seem to really care for their well-being.”
A suspect has been arrested for the theft, the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office told ABC News. More details were expected to be released on the theft Monday, law enforcement said.
In the previous theft, Larsen said a woman stole a puppy from the store and hid the pet in a baby stroller on Feb. 12. Another woman then grabbed a puppy and ran out the door moments later. The individuals, who were caught on security camera footage, have still not been caught, Larsen said.
Resale opportunities for the dogs appears to be the motive for these incidents, Larsen said.
Bulldogs, especially French bulldogs, are a common targets for thieves. French bulldog puppies can go for anywhere from $3,000 to $10,000, Tom Sharp, the CEO of American Kennel Club Reunite, told “Nightline” last year.
Larsen said Perfect Pets is offering a $1,000 reward for the return of each dog.
E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
(HIGHLAND PARK, Ill.) — Highland Park, Illinois, mass shooting suspect Robert Crimo III changed his plea to guilty on Monday as opening arguments in his trial were set to begin, according to Chicago ABC station WLS.
Crimo is accused of killing seven people and injuring dozens of others in the mass shooting at a 2022 Fourth of July parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park. He pleaded guilty to 21 counts of first-degree murder, three counts of each person killed, and dozens of attempted murder charges, according to WLS.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 23.
Jury selection wrapped up in the trial on Wednesday with opening statements planned for Monday. The trial was expected to take a few weeks.
Crimo told police he wore women’s clothing during the shooting and used makeup to hide his facial tattoos and blend in with the crowd during the chaos, prosecutors said. Crimo was apprehended hours later and prosecutors said he confessed to the shooting.
Crimo appeared ready to accept a guilty plea last June during a hearing, only to reject the deal in front of devastated members of the victims’ families. He was expected to plead guilty to seven counts of murder and 48 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm at the hearing at the time, according to The Associated Press.
“We have Fourth of July coming up and it will be two years,” Leah Sundheim, whose mother, Jacquelyn Sundheim, was killed in the shooting, said at a news conference at the time. “All I wanted was to be able to fully grieve my mom without the looming trial, knowing that he was going to spend the rest of his life in jail. And instead, we were yet again shown [Crimo’s] complete and blatant disregard for humans.”
Crimo’s father, Robert Crimo Jr., who was present during jury selection and again on Monday, pleaded guilty last year to reckless conduct, admitting to signing the Firearm Owner’s Identification card for his son to apply for gun ownership. He did not answer questions while leaving court Monday.
The younger Crimo was 19 at the time and and too young to get a FOID card on his own. Illinois at the time required people ages 18, 19 or 20 to have parent or guardian authorization.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Justice is preparing for Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to begin working with the agency to identify “cost-cutting” measures, with Attorney General Pam Bondi this week establishing an internal DOJ team to help facilitate the review of the nation’s top law enforcement divisions, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
In an email to DOJ division leaders on Wednesday, Assistant Attorney General Jolene Ann Lauria announced the formation of a “JUST DOGE” team, which will work with White House officials and “DOGE counterparts” to identify “savings and cost-cutting measures” within the department, according to a copy of the email reviewed by ABC News.
The “JUST DOGE” team, formed earlier this week by the attorney general, is solely made up of senior DOJ officials, including “co-leads” AAG Lauria, Associate Deputy Attorney General James McHenry, Counselor to the Attorney General Sean Day and Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General Vetan Kapoor.
According to the email, the new team will oversee the internal budget reviews and identify potential efficiencies at the Justice Department — efforts that Musk’s own DOGE personnel have spearheaded at other federal agencies.
“The JUST-DOGE team will lead directed reviews and identify cost savings and other potential efficiencies in DOJ’s budget,” the email read.
A Justice Department spokesperson told ABC News, “President Trump and Elon Musk are doing historic work to identify and eliminate wasteful spending on behalf of American taxpayers, and JUST DOGE will advance this mission at the DOJ in order to ensure the Department’s resources are best utilized to Make America Safe Again.”
Besides leadership, key roles on the “JUST DOGE” team include Deputy Assistant Attorney General Michael J. Williams, who will oversee human resources; DAAG William N. Taylor II, who will be responsible for management and procurement; DAAG Christopher C. Alvarez, who will lead financial management and budgeting; and DAAG Meunda Rogers, who will head data and IT, according to the email.
The formation of the team has stirred unease among some DOJ officials who worry that Musk’s DOGE operatives could move aggressively to slash department personnel and programs, sources told ABC News. Meanwhile, others see the creation of the “JUST DOGE” team, which is composed entirely of current DOJ staff, as an attempt by department leadership to maintain control over the review process and create a buffer against Musk’s team, which has been granted broad access and power at other agencies.
Several of Musk’s DOGE representatives have been seen inside Justice Department offices in recent days, heightening concerns that the DOJ — the agency responsible for enforcing federal law — could become the next major target of Musk’s cost-cutting push.
Musk, who sources tell ABC News has been in direct contact with Bondi since joining the administration, previously joked in an interview with podcaster Joe Rogan about Biondi’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files in February, when she ruffled feathers in the White House by trumpeting the release of a binder of materials that contained almost no new information. Musk, who at times in the interview defended Bondi, also called the move by the attorney general “disappointing.”
More than 110 million Americans are under alerts Sunday for flooding, mudslides and strong winds as dangerous winter weather left tens of thousands without power throughout the South and caused multiple deaths in Kentucky.
Heavy rain continued to produce serious flooding across parts of the Southern United States on Sunday morning, where rapidly rising floodwaters inundated roadways and spurred some evacuations. Meanwhile, snow and sleet made for messy weather in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic.
Throughout Saturday and into Sunday, there were numerous flash flood warnings issued across parts of Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia and North Carolina.
The impact from flooding in his state is “massive,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Sunday in a statement on X, and there have been hundreds of water rescues and multiple fatalities.
“Evacuations are continuing as this event will continue through today,” Beshear said. “Please be careful if you have to travel.”
More than 300,000 customers spread across Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi and Virginia were without power Sunday morning, according to Poweroutage.us.
In advance of the heavy rainfall and widespread flooding, Beshear issued a state of emergency, saying Saturday that the entire state would be under significant threat through at least Sunday morning.
Parts of western Kentucky and northwestern Tennessee reported receiving 4 to 7 inches of rain Saturday night into Sunday. The area around Clarksville, Tennessee, northwest of Nashville, reported getting around 7.6 inches of rain.
Beshear also said he wrote to President Donald Trump “requesting an emergency disaster declaration for Kentucky due to the severe weather and impacts across our state,” which would release federal funds to aid the response.
The governor said he had also spoken to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and the acting director of FEMA.
Serious flooding around Panbowl Lake in Jackson — about 85 miles southeast of Lexington — led to the evacuation of a nursing home and a hospital as precautions.
The Louisville Metro Police Department said its river patrol and diving teams were working with local fire departments to conduct water rescues “throughout the city,” with almost 30 such rescues completed and more expected. Authorities in Simpson County, Kentucky, also reported water rescues.
Areas along the border between Kentucky and Tennessee reported the highest reported rain totals, with between 4 and 7 inches of rain.
In Tennessee, more than 50 residents of a nursing home in Macon County, about 65 miles northeast of Nashville, were evacuated to higher ground after rising water began to approach, according to the Macon County Emergency Medical Services.
Joe Pitts, the mayor of Clarksville, Tennessee, said in a statement that close to 4 inches of rain caused “alarming scenes of flash flooding” in the area. Up to 2 more inches of rain is expected through the day and into Sunday evening, Pitts said.
The National Weather Service extended a flash flood emergency for several counties in West Virginia and in southwestern Virginia until 8 a.m. Sunday, calling the flash flooding an “extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation.”
In the town of Richlands, in southwestern Virginia’s Tazewell County, residents of many areas were encouraged to evacuate, according to the local police department.
“Multiple areas of the town are currently experiencing flooding, with the river expected to rise even higher,” the police department said in a Facebook post on Saturday afternoon. “Residents in previously flooded areas are strongly advised to evacuate at once. Evacuation should not be postponed.”
Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears said National Air guardsmen and soldiers had been deployed to help the response. “Don’t try to outrun a flood or anything,” she wrote in a Facebook post. “Get the higher ground if you need to.”
In West Virginia, Gov. Patrick Morrisey declared a state of emergency in 10 counties. Evacuations were underway in southern West Virginia, with the Blue Stone River experiencing major flooding near Spanishburg.
In areas affected by heavy rain, landslides and rockslides are possible.
Storms with damaging winds and flash flooding were the main threats, but there was also the possibility of tornadoes.
Residents were urged to pay attention to severe weather warnings overnight, as the tornado risk continued into Sunday morning for parts of Georgia. Warnings could be extended east to the Atlantic coastline as the storms progress.
Snow and ice in the Northeast
Meanwhile, snow moved into portions of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic on Saturday afternoon, and conditions were expected to deteriorate.
The snow is expected to change to sleet and rain as this system moves through the Northeast into Sunday.
The switch from snow to sleet and rain will create slushy conditions and hazardous travel.
Snow totals could be topping a foot across parts of central and northern New England and northern New York state. For cities like Hartford and Boston, a slushy 3 to 6 inches is likely before rain falls and compacts the snow.
86 million under wind alerts
High wind alerts are in effect for more than 86 million people across 22 states for Sunday and Monday.
Gusts of up to 60 mph are possible in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic through Sunday night, while gusts of up to 45 mph are possible in the Southeast.
A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for Atlanta at 4:30 a.m. on Sunday. Wind gusts at the city’s Mercedes Benz Stadium were recorded up to 71 mph.
More than 215,000 customers were without power in Georgia as of the early hours of Sunday morning.
ABC News’ Victoria Arancio and Josh Richardson contributed to this report.
