Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Officer John Lee May Arrested for Stealing Puppy

A Putnam County Sheriff’s Office K-9 officer and school resource officer who was fired from his job last week was arrested Monday after an 11-year-old boy reportedly saw him steal a dog from a pet shop.

John Lee May, 39, of San Mateo was arrested on a charge of grand theft in connection with the theft of a tea-cup Chihuahua.

According to Sheriff’s Maj. Keith Riddick, May went into the Acme Pet shop on U.S. 17 in San Mateo on Saturday wearing a heavy jacket. The pet shop owner later told deputies that a customer noticed a man acting suspiciously and the customer’s 11-year-old son saw the man put the tiny dog into a jacket pocket.

May was arrested on a warrant Monday and shortly afterward posted the $1,004 bond in the case, Riddick said.

May had worked for the Sheriff’s Office three times over the past eight years and the dog theft case was apparently unrelated to his release from the agency, Riddick said.

The agency terminated May a week ago after completing what Riddick said was “an internal investigation into a complaint of possible domestic violence involving his ex-girlfriend.”

May had been a K-9 officer in the School Resource Unit and was working as a middle school resource deputy when he was let go.

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