South Bay : Dognaper Fails to Surrender Her Pooch

Convicted dognaper Edie Warwick still won’t give up the pooch--even if it means spending four extra months behind bars.

South Bay Municipal Judge Josh M. Fredricks agreed to reduce Warwick’s jail sentence from five months to one month if she brought Cassie, the dog she was convicted of stealing, to court Thursday morning. The deadline came and went with no sign of the woman or dog.

Warwick, 42, was convicted of misdemeanor theft this week. Warwick, who was also sentenced to pay $1,550 in fines and restitution or 310 hours of community service, is free pending appeal.

Warwick, a former Lawndale planning commissioner, found Cassie in early September and placed an ad in a local newspaper looking for her owners. But when Joseph and Vicky French came to retrieve their dog, Warwick refused to hand her over, saying they had no records proving Cassie was theirs.

The dispute escalated, and a few days later, Warwick reported that the dog had disappeared from her back yard. A Torrance kennel worker later told sheriff’s deputies that a woman resembling Warwick boarded the dog at the kennel for four days.

Cassie has not been seen since.