A Philadelphia man has been sentenced to probation for attempting to sell a stolen dog back to its owner in Towamencin Township.
As part of a plea agreement with prosecutors, 21-year-old Erie Beh pleaded guilty earlier this month to one misdemeanor count of theft by unlawful taking, which was reduced from an initial felony charge of theft by deception. An additional felony charge of receiving stolen property was dismissed in exchange for Beh’s plea, court records show.
Following the guilty plea, Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Thomas Branca sentenced Beh to one year of probation.
The charges stemmed from a June 2022 incident involving the theft of a white poodle.
During the evening of June 1, 2022 a white poodle wearing a pink shirt and pink collar was reported missing from a home along the 100 block of Mainland Square Drive. The following day, the owner’s son-in-law contacted police stating that he was approached by a man while hanging missing dog posters, who stated he had seen a white Suzuki sedan with tinted windows pull up next to the dog, at which point a woman jumped out of the passenger side, grabbed the dog, and fled the scene.
The tipster stated the vehicle was being driven by someone else, however he was unable to see the driver. The vehicle was captured on a neighbor’s surveillance system, according to charging documents.
Two days later, the son-in-law received a text message from an unknown male — later identified as Beh — who said he had seen posts about the missing dog on Facebook and had purchased a similar dog for $3,000 from a woman in a Walmart parking lot in Northeast Philadelphia, police said. Beh sent the son-in-law a picture of the dog he allegedly purchased, which was still wearing the same pink shirt as when it was stolen, according to the criminal complaint.
Beh then asked if he would be compensated for returning the dog "since he is out the $3,000 he paid for her,” the report states.
Police said the son-in-law and Beh agreed to meet at the Royal Farms to reunite the dog with its family, however when Beh arrived at the location, police confronted him and secured the dog. Beh allegedly told police he "figured it was stolen,” and over the course of the conversation, investigators learned he was staying with a woman along the 200 block of South Broad Street, where they found a white Suzuki sedan registered to Beh parked in the driveway.
Regarding the woman who was seen allegedly grabbing the dog, Towamencin Township Police Chief Tim Troxel said investigators were unable to confirm the identity of the woman, and Beh would not cooperate with investigators attempting to ascertain the identity of the woman.
Troxel added since Beh was alone when he was allegedly found to be in possession of the dog, there was no probable cause to charge his girlfriend, and when contacted by police, she declined to be interviewed as part of the investigation.
"Attempts were made to interview Beh’s girlfriend, but she was uncooperative and did not agree to be interviewed; and we could not compel her to do so,” Troxel said. "Mr. Beh also refused to identify the female who was seen taking the dog.”
Beh was initially charged with felony counts of theft by deception, receiving stolen property, and theft by unlawful taking. However, the original theft by unlawful taking charge was dismissed during Beh’s preliminary hearing, as Magisterial District Judge Ed Levine ruled there wasn’t enough evidence to show Beh was directly responsible or involved in the theft of the dog. Judge Levine added that he held over the theft by deception and receiving stolen property charges as he believes evidence showed that Beh was in possession of the dog, and once in possession of the dog, Beh allegedly attempted to deceive the owner into paying for the dog’s return via a story about purchasing the dog in Philadelphia.
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