ELMONT, N.Y. (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) — Five boys were arrested for stealing a Long Island woman's dog then sending her a disturbing ransom text on Wednesday, authorities said.
According to detectives, at 5:50 p.m. officers responded to an Elmont residence for a larceny of a Pekingese dog.
Upon arrival, officers were informed by a 34-year-old woman that after noticing her dog was missing, she received a message on her cellphone of an image with five unknown boys holding the dog and "$500" was written under the photo.
The woman then received a phone call from an unknown number. A male stated they had her dog in the vicinity of 181 Gotham Ave. and demanded $500 to return him, officials said.
The victim contacted police and officers were able to locate the boys with the dog, in a parking lot at the Gotham Avenue location.
All five boys were placed into custody without further incident and the dog was returned to the woman unharmed.
An investigation determined the boys found the dog and used the collar's information to contact the owner.
The boys were charged with two counts of grand larceny.
They were released on an appearance ticket returnable to Nassau County Family Court on June 13.
