By Anthony Rifilato
The theft occurred on Thursday, Aug. 1 between 5:45 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.. during store hours.
One store employee was able to view the thieves as they left. As she was working in one of the aisles, the employee, Rebecca McAbe, witnessed three people hurriedly walk by, with a strange sound coming from them.
"She didn't see them take the birds, but she saw them as they left," said Tracy Brannick, a PetCo assistant manager. Of the funny sounds coming from the robbers' bag, Brannick said, "She [McAbe] thought they were farting or something."
After the suspicious group left, employees noticed the cages had been pried open and the birds were missing. McAbe later described the group to a police sketch artist.
Nassau County Crime Stoppers said the subject is a white or Hispanic man in his mid-twenties, 6' tall with a medium build. He also has olive skin and short, dark hair. The accomplices are described as a black woman in her 20's with a ponytail and a Hispanic man, also in his 20's, with short orange/yellow hair.
But it seems the bird crazy trio haven't been deterred. A week after the two birds were taken, the thieves returned to the PetCo, but this time they left empty handed.
"They came back and tried to steal a Cockatoo," said Brannick, who noted that the exotic parrot cost $1,300 dollars.
This time, an employee witnessed the thieves in action, trying to bust open the cage, which had been reinforced with Masterlocks.
"An employee came to me and said 'they're here'," Brannick said, who said the attempt happened very quickly. Brannick called 911 --following company policy, employees are not supposed to detain thieves --- while one of PetCo's daring employees, Laren Grimm, took it upon herself to follow the bird bandits as they sped out of the parking lot. Brannick said Grimm was able to get a license-plate number and said the getaway car was a slightly beat-up 1980's blue Chevy Cutlass.
"The police came back and showed the earlier sketch to an employee and it matched," said Brannick, who added that several workers can identify the robbers.
With the latest attempt by the bird gang, Brannick sees a pattern emerging.
"About four months ago the bird cages were pried open and someone stole a $900 dollar African Gray Parrot," said Brannick. Brannick said Mcabe, the employee who gave police the sketch, remembered that they were the same people who had inquired about the parrot four months earlier, leading them to believe it was the same people.
The bird cages are in the rear of the store, in a glass encased room. Once out the door of the bird room, the main exit to the parking lot is a sprint away. The cages have since been double locked.
The theft of the birds, a Sun Conure and Yellow Collar Macaw bird, both South American and part of the parrot family, is considered grand larceny, which is a felony. Detectives at Nassau County Crime Stoppers said the trio could certainly serve jail time.
Employees cannot understand the senseless theft.
"They basically sentenced these birds to death," said Shayim Todman, one of the PetCo. managers. The birds wouldn't fly off because their wings are clipped and are used to being handled, said Todman, but it would be difficult for the birds to survive without proper handling and care.
Police and management are hoping the robbers, and birds, won't get too far. "The birds are easy to track," Todman said. "They have tags on their legs, and it's against the law to sell the birds."
A $2,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest in this case. Anyone with information can call 800-244-TIPS. All calls are anonymous.
