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Officials initially responded to 32nd St and Broadway on a report of a man with a dog attempting to pry open apartment doors, police said. There, they detained Steven Rodriguez — but he soon attempted to flee, police said.
Officers placed Rodriguez under arrest and when they asked him if the dog was his, he said yes. While Rodriguez was under arrest, police received a report of a dog that had gone missing from the same building Rodriguez had been spotted at, officers said.
An additional report said Rodriguez and a dog were seen in a homeowner's basement with narcotics, police said.
Officers investigated and learned Rodriguez stole a tenant's dog and then entered a homeowner's basement with crack cocaine, police said.
Rodriguez was charged with two counts of burglary, resisting arrest and drug possession. The dog was returned to its rightful owner, police said.
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