Dog thief who stole two black labradors outside M&S has now been jailed

A dog thief who stole two family pets outside of Marks and Spencer earlier this year has been jailed.

On March 30th, we reported that two black labradors, Denzel and Welly, were stolen after being tied up outside of an M&S branch in Nantwich, Cheshire.

The dogs’ owner, Dale Robson, had been walking them through Nantwich town centre on March 27th when he went into M&S and left Denzel and Welly tied up outside. 

Facebook / Dale Robson

However, Robson returned a couple of minutes later to find they were missing.

Thankfully, the incident was captured on CCTV, and the police were quick to release the footage in a bid to identify and apprehend the two perpetrators.

Thousands of people shared an appeal for information, but a tip-off led police to track down the dogs three days later in Tunstall, Staffordshire, Stoke on Trent Live reports. 

It came after a neighbour had seen the pets and had become suspicious.

Malachy Doherty, of Tunstall, was subsequently arrested.

The thirty-seven year old went on to plead guilty to theft and failing to surrender to bail. He was sentenced to twenty-seven weeks in prison at South Cheshire magistrates’ court.

A fourteen year old accomplice, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found guilty of theft following a trial held in his absence.

Facebook / Dale Robson

The teenager had allegedly texted someone offering two dogs for sale, although he later claimed they were different pets. 

A court warrant has now been issued for the youth’s arrest.

In a statement read out at the hearing, Mr Robson said: “I cannot believe that someone can be so heartless as to steal two dogs who are members of the family.”

In addition to his prison sentence, Doherty has been ordered to pay £1,000 in compensation to Robson along with £930 costs and a £128 surcharge.