A Boston TV reporter who was filming a spot on a dog being taken out of someone’s car had that segment significantly livened up by the fact that she saw the alleged dog thief, along with the same dog, while she was at the scene of the crime with her cameraman.
WHDH-TV’s Juliana Mazza, alongside camera guy John Gruicewere, were reporting from a Cambridge, Massachusetts parking lot on May 9 on the two-day-old story of a 13-month-old German Shorthaired Pointer (Titus) being taken from his owner’s parked car.
The breed is pretty distinctive, meaning the dog would be pretty easily recognized. As stated above, while filming the report on the story Mazza saw a dog that looked like Titus. After a brief interaction the man paired with Titus, who also looked like the suspect, said he took the dog. Police then showed up just a few minutes after she phoned it in.
While talking to Inside Edition (see: the video at the top) Mazza said she asked the man if she could pet the dog to confirm via the name tag that it was the correct animal while simultaneously motioning for her cameraman to record. The alleged thief claimed that he was supposed to be walking a dog and that he took Titus by accident. He says that he tried to call the number on the tag but that he “tried using one phone but the phone was broken.”
The suspect was identified as Kyle Gariepy. He’s been charged with breaking and entering a vehicle to commit a felony and larceny over $1,200.
Titus was also reunited with owner Greg Siesczkiewics.
“I think that the person just saw the dog and wanted to take the dog for a walk. I don’t think there was a lot more than that,” Siesczkiewics told WCVB-TV. “I’m grateful that this wasn’t one of those stories where you never hear from Titus again. God only knows what happens, and I spend the next 15 years looking at every dog in Boston, so I’m grateful I don’t have to do that.”
