An Altha man and a juvenile have been charged with grand theft and burglary of an occupied dwelling after allegedly stealing a dog from a fenced yard.
Joshua Michael Montgomery, 19, and a Bristol teen were booked into the Calhoun County Jail June 15.
According to the Altha Police Department, the case began May 27 when Altha Police Chief Jimmy Baggett was contacted by Calhoun County Sheriff’s Deputy Barbara Bodiford. The deputy advised she responded to a home on Chipola Street in Altha regarding a blue pit bull dog, valued at $500, that was missing from a couple’s fenced yard. The owner said his gate was always locked.
Fortunately, the owner discovered a pair of camouflage Costa sunglasses near where the dog sleeps. The sunglasses were turned over to Chief Baggett who took over the case.
The dog’s owner approached his neighbor, Montgomery, later that night asking if anyone in his house had lost a pair of camouflage Costa sunglasses, adding that he had found a pair in the road by his house. Montgomery told him a friend of his from Bristol had lost the glasses. The dog’s owner then told him he had actually found the sunglasses in his yard, then told Montgomery to return his dog.
A man with Montgomery allegedly asked, “How much would you pay to get the dog back?”
The dog owner replied, “Five hundred dollars.”
A minor argument ensued.
Chief Baggett met with Montgomery and asked him to show him the text regarding the sunglasses.
“I erased it,” Montgomery reportedly stated.
When Chief Baggett asked him where the dog was located, Montgomery responded, “On the Chipola River at Look and Tremble walking the shore line.”
Montgomery then told Chief Baggett he had called his mother and asked her to retrieve the dog from Look and Tremble. The woman soon pulled up at the residence with the dog in her vehicle.
Chief Baggett noted the dog had been bathed and sprayed with some type of perfume. He further noted the mother gave an account that conflicted with her son’s version of events, but refused to provide a written statement.
A juvenile in the case allegedly told Chief Baggett Montgomery asked him to help him “get back at his neighbor” by stealing the dog.
