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PHOENIX (FOX 10) -- Phoenix Police officials said Monday that an 18-year-old man has been arrested and accused of stealing a kitten from an Arizona Humane Society adoption facility.
The theft of 12-week-old Zeus, according to officials with the Arizona Humane Society, happened on June 4th, when the suspect entered the AHS' Sunnyslope Campus asking if there were any kittens for adoption. Ocampo Reyes later met Zeus, and when the adoption counselor stepped away from the meet and greet room to help get a question answered, volunteers then saw the suspect putting the kitten under his sweatshirt and run out of the facility.
According to Phoenix Police officials on Monday, the suspect, now identified as Joan Ocampo Reyes, turned himself into Phoenix Police on Friday, June 7, but did not give police information of where Zeus was at. Zeus was found on Monday, and was returned to the facility. Ocampo Reyes is facing theft charges.
"We were just in shock at the end of the day," said Bretta Nelson with the Arizona Humane Society. "It wasn't about finding this person. It was about finding this kitten."
"I do animal cruelty investigations, so my first thought was that the cat may have been taken for other purposes and that he was in harm's way, so I worked very hard on this case to locate this kitten," said Detective Heather Krimm with Phoenix Police.
For now, there are no changes to adoption procedures at the humane society.
"We trust out adopters that come in," said Nelson. "People, they just want to adopt. They love animals, so it's uncommon for this to happen, and at the end of the day, anyone that steals something, where there's a will, there's a way."