LOS ANGELES — An arrest has been made in the theft of a French bulldog that left the pet’s owner clinging desperately to the hood of a car as the thieves sped away in Southern California.
On Saturday, the LAPD announced that the suspect, Sadie Slater, was arrested in Inglewood. The 21-year-old was booked for robbery with bail set at $70,000.
It’s unclear if the dog, Onyx, was found or return to the owner.
The brazen dognapping happened the afternoon of Jan. 18. The dog’s owner, Ali Zacharias, was eating lunch outdoors at a downtown Los Angeles Whole Foods with her dog when a woman grabbed the leash and walked off with Zacharias’ beloved best friend.
The thieves kept going for several blocks before swerving, sending the dog owner to the ground.
Zacharias ran after her, but the woman jumped into a car with three other people inside. Zacharias stood in front of the car, but they rammed right into her. She slipped onto the hood and then just held on.
Bystander video shows the vehicle driving through the streets of Los Angeles with Zacharias hanging onto the hood. Eventually the car swerved and shook her off, then fled with Onyx.
Police later released a photo of a woman wearing a gray hoodie and purple sweatpants that is believed to be the suspect. It’s unclear if that is the same person who was arrested.
At least one other suspect has been described as a man in his mid-20s. They were driving a white, KIA Forte sedan.
Authorities have arrested a woman on suspicion of stealing a French bulldog in downtown Los Angeles last month in an incident that gained attention when onlookers filmed the victim clinging to the hood of a car as it sped away with her dog, Onyx, inside.
Police arrested Sadie Slater, 21, of Los Angeles, in connection with the crime, according to a news release from the Los Angeles Police Department.
Onyx was not recovered as of Saturday afternoon, but detectives were still conducting interviews, police said.
Ali Zacharias’ heartbreak began Jan. 18 when she was on a lunch break with Onyx at the Whole Foods on Grand Avenue near 8th Street, she told The Times in an interview. Onlookers were watching the 44-year-old interact with her dog: a black-and-white-speckled French bulldog a little over a year old with different colored eyes, the left blue and the right green.
The next thing Zacharias knew, she said, a woman had picked up Onyx and was walking away with him.
Onyx, a French bulldog with one blue eye and one green eye, was stolen from his owner in downtown L.A. on Jan. 18.
(Ali Zacharias)
Zacharias said she attempted to follow the woman into a car — a white Kia Forte that held four people — before being pushed out. That’s when she stood in front of the car in an attempt to stop it, then fell onto the hood as it drove forward, she said.
She rode atop the hood for a short way before the car swerved and she rolled off. She was bruised and cut but not badly hurt, she said.
Video of the ordeal was posted on Instagram and widely shared.
French bulldogs are one of the most popular small-breed dogs in the world, according to the American Kennel Club, “especially among city dwellers.” They’re known for their square heads, “bat” ears and charming disposition. Expensive and in high demand, the dogs have been a favorite target of thieves in recent years in the L.A. area.
Slater was taken into custody late Friday in Inglewood by members of the LAPD gang and narcotics division and U.S. Marshals’ fugitive task force, according to investigators. She was booked on suspicion of robbery and remained jailed Saturday in lieu of $70,000 bail, jail records state.
Zacharias has offered a reward for her beloved pet’s safe return.
Onyx, a French bulldog with one blue eye and one green eye, was stolen from his owner in downtown L.A. on Jan. 18.
Ali Zacharias recalled desperately clinging to the hood of the getaway car as it sped through downtown Los Angeles. Inside the vehicle was the thieves’ precious cargo: Onyx, her French bulldog and “buddy.”
Zacharias said her only thought was, “I’m not leaving this car. … I held on to the windshield wipers, thinking they wouldn’t drive if I was on the car.”
They did.
“Before I know it, we’re going like 40 miles per hour,” she said. She rode atop the hood for a short way before the car swerved and she rolled off. She was bruised and cut but not badly hurt, she said in an interview with The Times on Sunday.
But as Zacharias stood watching the car disappear, she felt bereft. Onyx was gone.
Onyx, a French bulldog with one blue eye and one green eye, was stolen from his owner in downtown L.A. on Jan. 18.
(Ali Zacharias)
The terrifying scene was caught on video, which was later posted on Instagram and has since gone viral.
Since the Jan. 18 incident, Zacharias has been victimized a second time, by a scammer playing on her desperation to find Onyx. The individual led her on a “goose chase” Sunday to extract $50 — for “gas money,” the person claimed — she told The Times.
Los Angeles police are investigating the incident but could not be reached for comment Sunday.
French bulldogs are one of the most popular small-breed dogs in the world, according to the American Kennel Club, “especially among city dwellers.” They’re known for their square heads, “bat” ears and charming disposition. Expensive and in high demand, the dogs have been a favorite target of thieves in recent years in the L.A. area.
Zacharis’ heartbreak began when the West Hollywood woman, who says she manufactures clothes, was on a lunch break with Onyx at a Whole Foods in downtown Los Angeles on Grand Avenue near 8th Street. Onlookers were watching the 44-year-old interact with her dog. The black-and-white-speckled French bulldog is a little over a year old and has different colored eyes, the left blue and the right green.
“They were watching me feed him meatballs and white fish. … I spoil him.”
He ducked under the table where she was sitting; she let him go as he explored. The next thing she knew, she said, a woman had picked up Onyx and was walking away with him.
Onyx is a little over a year old.
(Ali Zacharias)
“I thought it was a misunderstanding,” Zacharias said, so she followed, calling out to the woman, who got into a white Kia Forte. And still, she “didn’t punch into the fact that my dog was stolen. … I wasn’t in that mode.”
So she attempted to follow the woman into the car, which held four people, before being pushed out. They locked the door. Zacharias said she realized they were “about to drive off with my dog, so I stood in front of the car, and I was holding my hands up, like, ‘Stop, do not go,’ and they drove into me and I fell onto the hood.”
When she tried to describe to loved ones what had happened, they weren’t able to appreciate it, she said — until Saturday, when she said she became aware of video circulating on social media that showed those terrifying moments on the hood of the car.
“I get wind of this video on Instagram, and it changed my whole world,” she said, “because I had felt completely alone.”
The video, taken by witness Harrison Pessy, has drawn a lot of interest from news outlets and social media channels, and Zacharias said she hoped that would help police solve the case.
“I hope the next story about this is a reunification story.”
A poster promising a reward has been circulated in the theft of a French bulldog in downtown L.A. on Jan. 18.
LOS ANGELES — Terrifying video captured the moments a woman clung to the hood of a speeding car in Southern California after her French bulldog was stolen.
“I thought I was going to die. I just was like ‘this is it”,” said Ali Zacharias.
She and her dog Onyx were having lunch together at a Whole Foods in downtown Los Angeles on Jan. 18 when it all happened.
A woman first called to the dog, then grabbed the leash and walked away. Zacharias followed her but the woman hopped into a car with three others inside and locked the doors.
Zacharias didn’t hesitate.
“I didn’t want the car to drive away, so I ran and stood in front of it. They drove into me and I fell on top of the hood, and just started to grab on… Before I knew it, they were like backing up and taking off,” she recalled.
The thieves kept going for several blocks before swerving, sending Zacharias to the ground.
The suspect vehicle is described as a newer model white Kia Forte four-door sedan with a missing hubcap.
Onyx is a black merle French bulldog with a spotted coat and two different colored eyes. Zaharias is just hoping to get her beloved dog back.
“I just feel lost and lonely without him. He’s my buddy, he’s my wing man. He goes to work with me, we do everything and he was just suddenly gone.”
Zacharias is offering a reward for her dog’s safe return. Anyone with information can call the Los Angeles Police Department at (877) 275-5273.
