The Southern Pines Police Department has announced that two people have been arrested after they allegedly stole a dog from an elderly couple in the parking lot of a restaurant.

Lamondrick Keon Blue, 25, of Wagram, was arrested and appeared before a Richmond County Magistrate, and was jailed to the Richmond County Detention Center under no bond pending a hearing in Moore County Court on January 16, 2025.

Novia Z’Hane Ratliff, 21, of Hamlet, was arrested and appeared before a Richmond County Magistrate, and was jailed to the Richmond County Detention Center under a $5,000 secured bond pending a hearing in Moore County Court on January 16, 2025.

The two are accused of stealing a Shih Tzu named Kodiak from the car of an elderly couple as they were trying to enter their vehicle following a dinner. SPPD say Blue told the elderly gentleman that he would help him into his car, and when the car door opened, Blue grabbed the dog from the driver’s seat. Blue then ran off with the dog to a vehicle with a woman, reportedly to be Ratliff, waited to drive off, according to police.

Teresa Hiatt, the owner of the dog, told Moore County News that Blue and Ratliff were involved in a hit-and-run crash on Highway 15-501 near Laurinburg shortly after they stole the dog. Hiatt said she was told by Troopers of the hit-and-run, and that the other driver involved in the crash reported the dog ran out of the vehicle Blue and Ratliff were in. Troopers told Hiatt that the suspects were found the next morning and were arrested.

A search for Kodiak went throughout the weekend, and on Monday morning, a man found Kodiak walking along a road about four miles from the location of the crash. The man called the number on the dog’s collar which connected him to Hiatt. Hiatt was able to drive down to meet the man to pick up Kodiak and bring him home safely.

All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Information and photos in this article were contributed by the Southern Pines Police Department.