It's wonderful when we are fortunate enough to be doing work that we love. But it's even cooler when we can really show our workplace what we're capable of.
7NEWS Reporter Juliana Mazza may not be able to top her latest achievement, when she managed to bust the very perpetrator she was reporting on.
While Mazza was out reporting in the field, she was sharing the story of Titus, a stolen German short-haired pointer from Cambridge, Massachusetts. Titus was 13 months old and had been stolen on May 7 from the parking lot where Mazza was reporting on May 8.
Yesterday at approximately 12:32p, an unknown suspect broke into and entered a vehicle that was parked at\u00a0620 Memorial Drive\u00a0& stole a 13-month-old white German Short Haired Pointer out of the vehicle. The suspect was then observed walking the dog over the BU Bridge into Boston.pic.twitter.com/titQ0WvPMM— Cambridge Police\ud83d\udc6e\ud83c\udffd (@Cambridge Police\ud83d\udc6e\ud83c\udffd) 1620479831
Ironically, in the back of Mazza's shot, a brown and white short-haired German pointer appeared, and the dog was being walked by a man who matched the description of the thief, right down to the outfit he was wearing.
It's ridiculous enough for the guy to return to the scene of the crime, especially so soon, but to not even bother to change his appearance?
Mazza knew she had to act fast, so while her photographer was still filming she approached the man and the dog.
She acted as if she was only interested in the attractive dog and wanted to know what breed he was.
To confirm if she was correct in her suspicions or not, Mazza asked if she could pet the dog, checking his collar and tags while close to him.
Once she was able to confirm that the dog's name was Titus and saw the owner's phone number on the back of the tag, she began grilling the man about how he acquired Titus and called the police.
The man, Kyle Gariepy, told Mazza a story that absolutely did not add up.
"He said he was supposed to be walking a dog and he somehow grabbed the wrong dog."
"Twenty-four hours had gone by, and he never once tried to call the police or the dog's owner, even though his number is on the back of the dog tag."
You can see more about the story in the video below.
Today I was on the job looking into a stolen dog in #Cambridge. I NEVER could\u2019ve imagined that my photog & I would be the ones to actually FIND him! Happy to report we stopped the suspect (whose been arrested) & helped get #Titus back to his dog dad AND IT\u2019S ALL ON CAMERA pic.twitter.com/ICj5viviRg— Juliana Mazza (@Juliana Mazza) 1620517574
People were wildly impressed by Mazza's detective skills and ability to think on her feet in such a heated moment.
Straight up interrogated him I LOVE IT!— Brandi Kruse (@Brandi Kruse) 1620654201
Wow! This is an awesome story! Excellent, pro-active, heart-warming reporting! You and your photog deserve huge congrats and thanks!\u2019 You are very missed in NOLA! Stay safe! Congrats again!— Ray Reggie / Raymond Reggie (@Ray Reggie / Raymond Reggie) 1621049756
OMG that\u2019s incredible!! Way to go Juliana!!!! I think the whole community should be buying you and your cameraman drinks for life!— Keith Mahler Jr (@Keith Mahler Jr) 1620760461
I just saw this as a youtube recommendation. Good on you for your situational awareness, and your quick thinking. Congrats from Australia, well done!— emdee (@emdee) 1620794241
Omg you can hear Titus crying when he's back with his dogdad. You are amazing!— john (@john) 1621194898
It was confirmed that Gariepy was indeed the suspect who stole Titus by breaking into Gary Siesczkiewicz's car just 24 hours prior to Mazza's report.
Gariepy was arrested and charged with larceny, breaking and entering of a vehicle, and conspiracy to commit a felony.
Titus has been returned, happy and healthy, to his owner, Siesczkiewicz, who now believes wholeheartedly in the power of information being transmitted via the media.
