Reeds Spring Man Charged with Dog Theft

A man received a felony charge after allegedly taking a dog from a person’s home while she was at the hospital. Jesse J. Anaya, born in 1982, of Reeds Spring, faces one felony charge of stealing an animal.

According to the Hollister Police Department, officers were called to Root Street in Hollister around 12:43 p.m. on March 6 to investigate a report of a stolen dog. The caller said that she and Anaya had been drinking in her home and began to argue.

Eventually, the caller went to the hospital for three days and while she was gone, Anaya took her gray male American bulldog, Blue. She said he refused to give the dog back.

In Missouri, animal theft is a class E felony that has a maximum penalty of up to four years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

(Story by John Paul Schmidt, Ozarks First)