Terriers stolen at gunpoint
Five Yorkshire terriers, including four puppies offered for sale, were dognapped at gunpoint from a Koreatown home, authorities said Thursday.
The home-invasion robbery was captured on video by the family’s home security system.
Detectives released the tape Thursday in hopes of apprehending the two robbers, who got away with puppies valued at $2,500 each and the family’s grown Yorkie, Tang-ja, said Lt. Paul Vernon of the Los Angeles Police Department.
“The family had advertised the Yorkshire terriers in a newspaper,” Vernon said. “It appears the suspects answered the ad, knowing the value of the puppies.”
Shortly before 10 p.m. Feb. 23, the two men came to the family’s home on Manhattan Place. When a woman opened the door, one of the men pointed a handgun at her and the robbers forced their way into the home.
Vernon said that once inside, the men ordered the family to lie on the floor while one robber grabbed the dogs.
“The video shows them walking up, forcing their way into the home, forcing the family onto the floor and then chasing the dogs to round them up,” Vernon said.
He said the robbers placed all five dogs in a black bag and then left in a silver car. No one was injured in the robbery, Vernon said, but the family is particularly upset about the loss of Tang-ja, who had been their pet for three years.
“This robbery is a good lesson to residents that soliciting buyers to one’s home can be a risky practice,” Vernon said.
Anyone with information on the robbers should contact Wilshire Division detectives Webster Wong or Ron Kim at (213) 922-8205 or call the 24-hour toll-free number at (877) LAWFULL.
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