This man stole a puppy from a yard. Surveillance video helped reunite the family, cops say

A puppy was reunited with her family after a man snatched her from a front lawn in Palm Beach, police say.

The crime was caught on camera, and when police shared the surveillance video, anonymous tips led to the thief’s arrest, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.

Robert Wiggins, 43, was arrested and charged Thursday with grand theft. He was booked into the Palm Beach County jail on $3,000 bond.

In the video, Wiggins, wearing a yellow shirt, backpack and baseball cap, is seen letting Luna, a brown-and-white spotted dog, out of a gated yard and luring her down the street, police said.

“On Dec. 16, someone took Luna from her home. Today, after many tips from the community, we found her and the one who took her. Now she is back home with her owner,” the department wrote on Facebook.

This story was originally published December 22, 2018 at 4:04 PM.

Monique O. Madan

Miami Herald

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Monique O. Madan covers immigration and enterprise; she previously covered breaking news and local government. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald and The Dallas Morning News. In 2019 she was a Reveal Fellow at the Center for Investigative Reporting. She’s a graduate of Harvard University, Emerson College and The Honors College at Miami Dade College. A note to tipsters: If you want to send Monique confidential information, her email and mailbox are open. You can find all her stories here: moniqueomadan.com. You can also direct message her on social media and she’ll provide encrypted Signal details. Support my work with a digital subscription