DC police arrested four adults and three minors who he said were inside a home in northeastern Washington, where police found drugs, firearms and a stolen puppy named Pablo. The 11-week-old Australian shepherd was removed from his owner at gunpoint on Wednesday and rescued after nearly 30 hours in captivity. Pablo’s owners were relieved to be reunited with their puppy as authorities continued their search for a 1-year-old French bulldog named Bruno, who was stolen during another armed robbery the same day. Police charged the seven with robbery and said they were investigating the theft of Pablo and Bruno, a shooting that left two people injured and another robbery. All three incidents occurred within one hour Wednesday afternoon in northwestern and northeastern Washington. The arrests come as robberies in the city have risen by almost 60% this year, according to Assistant Police Chief Morgan C. Kane. Many of the robberies They had gathered last month along U Street and at Columbia Heights, Kane said Friday at a news conference involving Pablo and his owners. He said police across the District have seized nearly 800 firearms this year, a 40% increase over that period in 2021. While shootings, robberies and car robberies have caught the eye, publicity has grown since Pablo and Bruno were arrested at gunpoint 17 minutes apart while walking in broad daylight in Brightwood Park and Shaw. The victim from Shaw described the perpetrators as four masked men, one holding a gun. Four males take two dogs at gunpoint in separate robberies in DC “They should be able to walk down the street and walk their dog,” Kane said of the victims. The assistant leader, noting that he has a miniature goldendoodle walking in the District, said: “It is frustrating to see people invading us so carelessly, we are just living our lives.” The owners of Pablo and Bruno made public appeals on social media, on television and in print, sharing their photos and stories, which went viral on the Internet. Kane recorded thousands and thousands of retweets and other notifications and reported an unsolved deadly shooting of a 15-year-old boy in Columbia Heights on Monday that did not get as much attention. The publicity for Pablo and Bruno, Kane said, “was great in this case, but we would and should see it in all our cases. “Our community security depends on it.” Police say they have linked the same stolen Audi silver to dog robberies and other crimes that took place minutes later in northeastern Washington – a shooting that left two men injured. Eckington and a robbery near the NoMa-Gallaudet U subway station. Kane said detectives with a regional car robbery group formed last year found the Audi on Thursday night and evidence from that discovery led police to a nearby residence at 1200 block of 18th Place NE, near where one of the Pablo’s owners said his stolen cell phone had been pinged. Inside this home just south of the National Arboretum, Kane said, police found four adults and minors aged 14, 15 and 17. They also found more than 100 rounds of ammunition, a 0.45 caliber pistol, an AK-47 assault rifle and Pablo in the living room. An officer called Pablo owners Rick Oleka and his girlfriend, Abby Sevcik, and put them on FaceTime to see a detective holding their pet, which they had picked up on April 2 from a non-profit rescue team. “We were hysterical for a minute and then we felt such a rush of relief,” said Sevcik, 27, who was with Oleka, 30, at a police press conference on Friday. They also brought the recently released Pablo, who fell asleep curled up at the feet of his owners in the middle of the briefing in front of the police headquarters. Sevcik described the outburst of concern and help “beyond our wildest imagination. “We just hope the momentum stays high and we find Bruno.” Bruno owner Jamaica Harvey said she had not heard any updates. “I’m starting to feel a little discouraged,” he said Friday afternoon. “Something is definitely wrong.” He said if the people in the house raided by the police “have one dog, why do not they have the other?” Kane said police believe there is a link between Bruno and Pablo and the residence in 18th place, and are working with prosecutors to identify people who may be involved in the armed arrests. He said additional charges could be filed against any or all of the seven people arrested Thursday night, or against others as the investigation progresses. 3 in 10 district residents do not feel safe in their neighborhoods, according to the Post poll Kane said police are investigating how the group was found at the home and what plans people may have had for Pablo and possibly Bruno. The victims mentioned the possibility that the dogs were sold. Police said one of the minors, a 15-year-old from Lanham, Md., Was also charged with three armed car robberies that took place in the District on Tuesday. At the press conference, Kane called to account the juvenile justice system, especially the recidivists, but said, “I do not think anyone is arguing that they will go to jail for the rest of their lives.” At the same time, he said, “we also cannot, and will not tolerate, pointing guns at people’s faces and taking their belongings.” He said that minors “should go somewhere where they can get the help and services they need in order to become a productive member of society.” “They just can’t get back on the road to do it again to someone else.”
