English Bulldog thief captured

In December we told you about the English Bulldog puppies stolen right out of their own home. Well now one of the two men responsible has been captured, and will be held on trial for charges of helping another man invade a Reno home and steal two English bulldog puppies from their elderly owners, killing the puppies mother and injuring one of the owners in the process of escaping.

The man in custody is a 22 year old Army veteran, (I know, I’m stunned too!). He’s facing three counts of aiding and abetting felonies which are home invasion, grand larceny and robbery upon a person older than sixty. The man’s lawyer, Jessica Longley, said her client was deployed in a war zone while in the Army and has been struggling with substance abuse. He’s chiefly being accused of supplying his vehicle, and acting as lookout, while another man stole the puppies.

Police said Michael Donica, nicknamed “White Rabbit,” is a person of interest they want to question. Detectives said Donica has fled the state. Donica is named in the charges against Johnson as being the man who broke down the Harwoods’ door, stole the puppies, struck Joseph Harwood with the vehicle and ran over Harwoods’ dog, Wendy. The male and female puppies were 7 weeks old.

The accused Jonathan Paul Johnson’s live-in girlfriend, Jessica Engelhardt, testified Wednesday that Johnson told her what happened and that Donica wanted him along because Johnson was a “tough guy” who was in the military. She testified that Johnson said “how sorry he was.”

Reno police Detective Bob Evans testified Johnson confessed to his involvement and told him Donica asked to borrow his vehicle to “go steal some puppies.” Evans said Johnson and Donica were surprised Joseph Harwood was sleeping near the pen and did not think he would follow them outside.

“He said Donica told him this would be an easy job because he knew the puppies would be close to the front door and that the owners were elderly,” Evans said. “(Johnson) thought it was going to be a sneaky burglary they were doing and didn’t realize it wasn’t until (Donica) got out the sledgehammer.”

The elderly owner of the stolen puppies heard a “loud, huge crash,” saw a man reaching into the puppy pen and yelled to his wife to call police. He said he tried to pop the hood on the getaway vehicle to pull wires but was knocked to the ground when the vehicle accelerated. He then saw Wendy, the bulldog mother, in the street.

“She wasn’t moving,” Harwood said. “She was dying.”

Anyone who might know the whereabouts of Michael Donica, nicknamed “White Rabbit,” is encouraged to contact the Reno Police Department, Burglary Unit at 334-2115 or Secret Witness at 322-4900.

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English Bulldog Abbie