Couple charged in theft of Shih Tzu in December, SPCA says
Bella, a Shih Tzu, went missing from her Ronkonkoma home on Dec. 18, 2019 and was returned a week later at Christmas, the Suffolk County SPCA said. Credit: Suffolk County SPCA
An intensive investigation and video surveillance evidence led to a couple from Massapequa Park being charged in a December 2019 theft of a dog in Ronkonkoma, Suffolk SPCA Chief Roy Gross said Tuesday.
The dog, an 11-year-old Shih Tzu named Bella, went missing from a yard Dec. 18 and an initial anonymous tip claiming she'd been grabbed by a passing jogger proved unfounded. Investigators later determined what had happened to Bella, who was microchipped and wearing ID tags, and managed to get her back to her owners a week later at Christmas.
Since then, Gross said, SPCA investigators continued to pursue the case against the alleged perpetrators and were finally able to charge them last week.
The SPCA said James M. Zweidinger, 37, and his girlfriend, Crystal J. Fass, 35, both of Pittsburgh Avenue in Massapequa Park, are due in First District Court in Central Islip on Sept. 24 for arraignment on larceny charges.
Gross said the tags worn by Bella included her family's phone number.
The SPCA had offered a $2,000 reward for her return and a caller told them a jogger had "picked up Bella" — which investigators later determined was untrue. The subsequent investigation determined the location of the dog and Gross said investigators were able to facilitate Bella's return to her family.
Though he declined to provide additional details of the investigation, Gross said the Suffolk "SPCA continued to build a case leaving no stone unturned" until it was finally able to last week charge Zweidinger and Fass with the theft.
It was not immediately clear if the couple were represented by counsel.
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
'I'm going to try to avoid it' A trip to the emergency room in a Long Island hospital now averages nearly 4 hours, data shows. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports.
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