Stolen puppies go for a wild ride in Mercedes as alleged thieves flee down interstate

An alleged canine theft operation came to a screeching halt on Interstate 20 in Georgia.

Two South Carolina men were arrested and three stolen puppies were recovered after a high speed chase Tuesday.

A Yorkshire Terrier breeder from Milner in Lamar County posted puppies for sale online, which apparently drew three men from Winnsboro, South Carolina to Georgia, according to the Georgia Department of Public Safety’s Facebook page.

The men “forcefully stole” three of the puppies from the breeder near Barnesville and headed back toward South Carolina, the department’s Facebook post stated.

Lamar County Sheriff Brad White said the woman reported the theft just before noon Tuesday.

White alerted his colleague in Morgan County that the men, who were traveling in a Mercedes sedan and a black Acura, could be headed their way back home.

“We got their cellphone number from the dog owner and it came back as being from Columbia and we assumed they were from South Carolina,” White said

An alert Morgan County deputy spotted the suspects’ Mercedes on Ga. 83 and tried to stop the car, but driver kept going and got on Interstate 20 near Madison, Morgan County Sheriff Robert Markley said.

“They well exceeded 100 miles per hour,” Markley said

The Mercedes sped through a construction site, into closed lanes and the emergency lane, he said.

Georgia State Patrol Cpl. Seymour joined the pursuit and stopped the vehicle with a PIT maneuver, or Precision Immobilization Technique.

“The car spun out into the median and stopped,” Markley said. “There was some minor damage to the defendant’s car.”

Officers arrested the driver, 21-year-old Raheem Anthony Robertson and his brother, 28-year-old Anthony Tavar Robertson.

The third man in the Accura got away, but authorities have a lead on this identity, White said.

Anthony Robertson was taken to Lamar County to face charges in the theft, but Raheem Robertson was being held in Morgan County to face multiple traffic charges before answering the theft allegations.

In addition to reckless driving and speeding in a construction site, Raheem Robertson is charged with driving with a suspended license and removing or altering a license plate.

Markley said the arrests might solve other dog theft cases.

“I know they are suspects in other crimes similar to this in other jurisdictions,” Morgan County Sheriff Robert Markley said.

The Facebook post showed pictures of two of the rescued Yorkies.

“The three frightened puppies were recovered uninjured and returned to their happy and thankful owner,” the post ended.

The breeder was not hurt, White said.

“She’s doing good. She was really upset about what happened, though,” he said.

The puppies were not hurt, but their ears were taped to train them to stand up, he said.

“We got some questions about that.”

This story was originally published June 1, 2017 at 10:40 AM with the headline "Stolen puppies go for a wild ride in Mercedes as alleged thieves flee down interstate."