HOUSTON – A man accused of stealing three pricey puppies was arrested and charged with burglary Friday, but the dogs had not been found, investigators said.
Precinct 4 deputy constables announced Friday that they identified the man accused of stealing the bulldog puppies from a northwest Houston pet store on August 2.
Deputies said the suspect, 38-year-old Otis Witchet, swiped three English bulldog puppies, valued at $3,000 each, and the entire event was captured on surveillance video.
The video showed a black Chevy Suburban back into a parking space at 6 a.m. and a man getting out. He tied one end of a rope to his bumper, and the other to burglar bars on the front door of Pet City, located in the 200 block of Bammel Westfield. When that failed, he left and came back with tools, not once, but four times.
All the while, cars were passing by and it all took place just feet from a busy McDonald’s drive-through.
When he was unable to remove the burglar bars, the video showed the suspect crawl through them. After trying to break in for nearly an hour, he was in and out in just over a minute, pushing the three dogs through the bars and loading them into his vehicle.
The Precinct 4 Constable’s Office managed to get a license plate number from the surveillance video.
Investigators said Witchet has an extensive criminal history.
Anyone who knows of the location of the stolen puppies should contact the Precinct 4 Constable's Office at 281-376-3472.
