ORLANDO, Fla. _ Orlando police reunited a puppy left in a stolen car with its owner Tuesday.
JoJo's owner left the dog in a running Volvo at a 7-Eleven gas station at 2480 Jetport Dr. while he went into the store to buy some water, police said. When the owner walked outside, the car was gone and so was JoJo. The owner called 911 right away, police said.
Orlando police officers saw the car on Goldenrod Road and started driving after it, records show. The driver, 27-year-old Shawn Sullivan, tried to escape from police by running out of the car on Redditt Road. Police arrested him, but couldn't find JoJo in the car.
Sullivan told officers he gave the dog to two friends: Trevor Belair, 23, and Emily Knipp, 19. Witnesses told the dog's owner they saw a white car driving away from the 7-Eleven around the same time the car was stolen.
Officers got Sullivan to ask Belair and Knipp to pick him up, police said. The two saw officers at the pickup point and tried to run away, police said. Officers caught up to them and arrested them. JoJo fell out of their car, but was not injured. Officers reunited the owner with his puppy later that day.
Sullivan faces charges of grand theft and burglary. Belair faces charges of grand theft, being a principal to grand theft auto, and resisting arrest without violence. Knipp faces charges of grand theft and resisting arrest without violence. All three are being held at the Orange County Jail.
