Dog collar crime

Monroe - Monroe Village Police are looking for a young man they say stole a 12-week-old Maltese from a pet store after telling employees he wanted to buy the $2,500 puppy for his niece, Layla. According to Det. James Frankild, the incident unfolded this way: On Monday, Oct. 18, police were contacted by a pet store employee on Route 17M in Monroe who said someone had just stolen a puppy from the business. Employees told officers that a light skinned black male, medium build, approximately 28 years old, entered the store at about 6 p.m. and said he was looking to purchase a puppy for his niece, Layla. The man picked out a Maltese puppy with white hair, who weighed about three pounds. He told the employee that his niece was outside in the car and he wanted to show her the dog. An employee went out with them and after a few minutes the employee, the suspect and the dog went back into the store. While the employee left the room for a moment, she saw the man running from the store with the dog in tow. They got into a white minivan with some sort of rack on top and drove away with the niece behind the wheel. The employee described the woman in the van as an adult who appeared to be Hispanic. The value of the dog is $2,500. Anyone with information is asked to call the Monroe Police TIPS line at 845 492-TIPS.