Alleged serial robber arrested after another pet store theft in Philadelphia
When police apprehended the suspect, officers say they consulted the store clerk, who confirmed it was the same person.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A suspected serial robber is in custody after another Philadelphia pet store was stolen from on Thursday night.
It happened around 7 p.m. at the Doggie Style Pets store on the 1000 block of Pine Street in Center City.
The suspect stole $230 and fled the store, investigators say.
Officers were given a good description of the male suspect at the scene and said they later spotted him at Broad Street and Lehigh Avenue around 8 p.m.
When police apprehended the suspect, officers say they consulted the store clerk, who confirmed it was the same person.
This is the fourth robbery this month that targeted the small business chain that has 10 locations across Philadelphia.
The first robbery took place at a Doggie Style Pets store on 21st and South streets on December 16, then a store on 18th and Passyunk was robbed on December 21, and finally, the 17th and Spruce streets location was robbed on December 24.
Police believe the same suspect is responsible for all of these incidents.
Each time, the store says the suspect would wait until closing time after customers had left.
Howard Nelson, the owner and CEO of Doggie Style Pets, says the suspect has stolen thousands of dollars from his small business chain.
Nelson's company may not be the only victim.
"This is a safe place and I want people to feel that way when they come in here," Massimo Boni, the owner of Vita, a gelato shop also on 17th Street, previously told Action News.
Boni says his shop was victim to an overnight break-in on December 23. He says he compared surveillance with Doggie Style Pets and believes it's the same suspect.
