Riverside County sheriff’s deputies are looking for a man who used a violent car accident as an opportunity to steal a family’s dog.
As paramedics removed a 24-year-old woman and her 2-year-old son from the car, which had smashed into a median and landed upside down in the Highgrove area, their frightened Yorkshire terrier, Rizzo, ran out through a broken window, said Sgt. Dave Lelevier.
Two onlookers and several children chased the 3-year-old dog and were returning with him to the crash scene when a man grabbed Rizzo.
He “told them in Spanish that he would return the dog to the owner,” Lelevier said.
But he ran away with the dog.
Lelevier said the mother and child were treated and released from a hospital with minor injuries, but were upset to find out that their family pet had been stolen.
The suspect is described as Latino, about 5 feet 11 and weighing about 180 pounds. He was wearing a tan, short-sleeve shirt that read “White Cap” on the back.
Anyone with information regarding the case is asked to call the Jurupa Valley sheriff’s station at (951) 955-2600.
–Hector Becerra