Does anyone remember a show from the 90s where they would say in a funny, echoing voice, “Criminals are stupid”?
It’s a thing I remember, but I’m starting to think it was all in my head.
Anyway, in entertainment we prefer our criminals to be masterminds, planning elaborate Ocean’s 11 style heists and pulling one over on the man.
But in reality, we tend to prefer that criminals are easily brought to justice, as recently happened in Boston, and I’m not saying that the alleged criminal was stupid, but if you’re going to commit a crime, maybe leave the area afterwards.
It all started in early May, when a 6-month-old puppy was stolen from his owner’s locked car in broad daylight.
Yesterday at approximately 12:32p, an unknown suspect broke into and entered a vehicle that was parked at 620 Memorial Drive & stole a 13-month-old white German Short Haired Pointer out of the vehicle. The suspect was then observed walking the dog over the BU Bridge into Boston. pic.twitter.com/titQ0WvPMM
— Cambridge Police Department (@CambridgePolice) May 8, 2021
The dog’s name was Titus, and his owner, Greg Sieczkiewicz, called the police, distraught.
Please note: the dog’s name is “Titus.” We apologize for the typo.
— Cambridge Police?? (@CambridgePolice) May 8, 2021
Despite having clear CCTV footage of the dognapper, the police were not having any luck tracking the thief down.
The next day, a reporter named Juliana Mazza was reporting the story for WHDH 7NEWS Boston.
While at the scene of the crime, she spotted a man walking a dog that looked very familiar.
Today I was on the job looking into a stolen dog in #Cambridge. I NEVER could’ve imagined that my photog & I would be the ones to actually FIND him! Happy to report we stopped the suspect (whose been arrested) & helped get #Titus back to his dog dad❤️ AND IT’S ALL ON CAMERA ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/ICj5viviRg
— Juliana Mazza (@julianamazzatv) May 8, 2021
Mazza casually approached the dog walker and asked if she could pet his dog, to give her the opportunity to get a look at the dog’s tags.
She and her photographer were also pretty sure they recognized the man walking Titus from the footage the police had released.
According to Tank’s Good News, they decided to question the man about the dog he was walking.
The man, who has since been identified as 29-year-old Kyle Gariepy, grew flustered by their questions.
Then, as Boston.com reports:
Mazza asked the man about the dog, and he admitted while being filmed by the journalists to taking the pup from the car.
“He was just barking in the car, and I walked past the car and I thought it was supposed to be a dog I was dog walking,” Gariepy said. “It wasn’t a kidnapping, it was just a simple mistake.”
If it was all a mistake, why did he still have the dog with him 24 hours later?
Gariepy claimed, according to WHDH Boston, to have attempted to call the phone number on the tags, but the phone he tried to use was broken.
The intrepid report then managed to detain the man until the police could arrive.
Again, Boston.com notes:
Gariepy was arrested at the scene. He is facing charges of larceny of more than $1,200 and breaking and entering into a vehicle to commit a felony, 7News reports.
As for Titus and his owner Greg, they were happily reunited by the reporter and police.
WHAT ARE THE ODDS?!
My photog John & I were covering a stolen dog story in Cambridge when all of a sudden we spot THE DOG!!! We were able to convince the suspect to give us the pup & kept him engaged until @CambridgePolice arrived shortly after. We are SO HAPPY Titus is safe! ❤️ https://t.co/FPg2Pfsqc2 pic.twitter.com/s1ESKLiqIb— Juliana Mazza (@julianamazzatv) May 8, 2021
As Greg told 7NEWS:
“I’m just glad that the person came back and I’m just glad that you guys were there. If anyone ever sees this who questions the value of media, social media, broadcast media, this proves it.”
Watch the full 7NEWS broadcast of the unexpected reunion here:
https://twitter.com/julianamazzatv/status/1392167167785848832?s=20
What a crazy story! Do you believe it was an unfortunate mistake, or do you think Greg would still be wondering where his dog was, if not for the keen-eyed reporter? Let us know your take in the comments.
