Onnie Canady, 50, of Benham Avenue, was charged with third-degree larceny, risk of injury to a minor, illegal use of a credit card, second-degree forgery and reckless driving.
Police say Canady entered Puppies of Westport, 255 Westport Ave., at about 11:30 a.m. on July 9 claiming he wanted to buy a dog. Canady had a young boy with him police at the time identified as his son.
Store personnel told police Canady selected a 12-week-old English bulldog worth $4,100 and presented an American Express card issued to a Brooklyn, NY, resident to pay for it. When the card was swiped through the register it couldn't be read, so the employee handling the sale entered the numbers manually.
Police said Canady told the boy to get back in his car. Then, while the employee was trying to complete the sale, Canady grabbed the dog and fled to his car.
The employee, who told police Canady almost ran her over as he sped off, recorded the car's license plate, but it turned out to be stolen. The credit card was also stolen.
Store owner Monty Kaufman offered a reward for the dog's return, and contacted police when he received a tip it was at a residence in West Haven.
Norwalk and West Haven police went to the address with Kaufman on July 12 and spotted the puppy in the backyard. The homeowner said he met a man on Stratford Avenue in Bridgeport with the puppy, and paid him $2,000 for it and insisted he didn't know it had been stolen.
The puppy was identified by scanning an implanted microchip.
Soon after recovering the dog, police received a tip identifying the seller as a Bridgeport man who referred to himself as "Shine", according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
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| The English Bulldog puppy was microchipped |
Police received another tip on July 26 that led them to an apartment on Benham Avenue in Bridgeport, where Shine lived with his baby's mother, according to the affidavit. Detectives said they learned a man had been arrested there on a probation violation that month.
Police used a booking photo to identify the man as Canady, who was being held in the Bridgeport Correctional Center. He was identified by witnesses and also by comparing his photos to surveillance video taken in the puppy store, police said.
Canady has previous convictions for narcotics offenses, second-degree forgery and third-degree larceny in Connecticut and numerous convictions in New York, including criminal possession of a weapon, third-degree grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, and third-degree burglary.
