Crime & Safety
Dognapper Gets 3 1/2 years in Prison For Stealing Chihuahua from Joliet Store
The Joliet man sold the stolen Chihuahua to his girlfriend's sister for $100.
A dognapper was hit with a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence for stealing a Chihuahua from a store in the Louis mall last year.
Brian Maness, 42, of 339 S. Reed St. pleaded guilty to stealing the Chihuahua.
Maness was caught on surveillance as he snatched up the dog and stuffed it in his coat at the store Furry Babies on Feb. 1, 2013.
Fuzzy Babies employees distributed fliers begging for the return of the 2-month-old dog.
The Joliet police received a Crime Stoppers tip that Maness' girlfriend had the dog but when officers went to her home she refused to open her door to the them. The girlfriend's sister later called the cops and told them she bought the Chihuahua from Maness for $100.
The dog was returned to the store.
The stolen dog was valued at $2,100, according to prosecutors.
Maness has served time in prison before and has a number of burglary convictions out of Cook County dating back to the 1980s, an official said.
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