Update:
Oakland police said today they’re still looking for two armed men suspected of stealing and strangling a woman’s tiny Yorkshire terrier last week.
Officer Bradley Miller said the incident at an apartment complex near Lake Merritt about 8:30 p.m. Feb. 23 was “absolutely traumatic” for the victim, 25-year-old molecular biologist Lea Dunn.
“Even if you’re not an animal lover, you have to be outraged about what was done to a small, helpless dog that weighed less than three pounds,” Miller said.
He said the incident is “baffling.”
Miller said Dunn and her boyfriend were taking a friend home when two men pushed their way past them as they entered the lobby of the friend’s apartment complex in the 100 block of Montecito Avenue.
The men grabbed Dunn’s dog, “Princess,” which was walking off leash a few feet ahead.
Dunn screamed and tried to wrestle Princess away from one of the men, but she and her friends backed off after one of the men flashed a gun.
Miller said the two men fled with Princess, followed by Dunn and her boyfriend.
The two men dropped the dog on the ground about a half-block away from the apartment complex and Dunn and her boyfriend found Princess dead, apparently strangled, Miller said.
Miller said the couple has provided “some information” about the suspects and police hope to release a composite sketch of the men next week.
In addition, a $5,000 reward has been posted for information leading to the arrest of the suspects.
Miller said the men face robbery and animal cruelty charges.
Oakland police ask that anyone with information about the incident call the robbery unit at (510) 238-3326 or Crime Stoppers at (510) 238-6946.
http://cbs5.com/local/local_story_061151426.html