Lexington teens arrested for stealing 5 pit bulls from two local animal shelters in one night
A 19-year-old Lexington man and a 17-year-old female were arrested for allegedly stealing five dogs from two different animal shelters in one night, including the Davidson County Animal Shelter.
According to information provided by the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office, on Oct. 11 officers responded to the Davidson County Animal Shelter about a breaking and entering that had occurred earlier that morning.
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Employees at the shelter reported that two dogs, both pit-bull breeds, and two dog kennels had been stolen from the fenced in area at the animal shelter sometime in the early morning hours. Through the use of video surveillance footage, officers were able to develop leads to identify the two suspects.
As a result of these leads and with the assistance of Lexington Police Department, Joe Lee Janis, 19, of Lexington was arrested and charged with two counts of felony larceny of a canine; one count of felony first-degree trespassing and two counts misdemeanor damage to property. He was given a $5,000 secured bond and is scheduled in Davidson County Court on Nov. 8.
There are also pending warrants for the juvenile, who will not be identified due to their age.
Upon further investigation, it was discovered that the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office were also investigating the theft of three dogs from the Rowan County Animal Shelter that had also occurred the same day.
According to the report from the Rowan Sheriff's Office, two people broke into the Rowan County Animal Shelter somewhere between midnight and 6 a.m. on Tuesday and stole three pit bulls.
Law enforcement reported that a Rowan County Animal Control officer arrived at work on Tuesday morning and found damage to a fence at the rear of the shelter and found a door opened.
According to the report, three dogs were stolen, but there were other pit bulls at the shelter that were not taken.
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During the investigation, deputies used surveillance video from a nearby business to identify a dark colored vehicle in the area.
According to reports, a short time later deputies responded to the Faithful Friends shelter in Rowan County about an attempted breaking and entering. A worker had been alerted to activity at the shelter by motion detected on a surveillance camera and the same dark vehicle was seen leaving the area.
According to the information provided, no dogs were taken from Faithful Friends, but there was damage to a gate.
The two dogs reported stolen from the Davidson County Animal Shelter were recovered walking down a road in Lexington unaccompanied later in the day on Tuesday.
During the arrest of Janis and the 17-year-old female on Tuesday, two of the dogs from Rowan County were recovered at the residence. The third dog, according to Davidson County Sheriff Richie Simmons, has been located but they have been unable to catch it.
Simmons said the motive for the alleged larcenies is unknown and the suspects are not cooperating with the investigation by providing any further information.
“We’re not sure what the reason was, but it definitely goes up there with being a pretty dumb crime,” said Simmons.
This article originally appeared on The Dispatch: Lexington teens arrested for stealing 5 dogs from two animal shelters
