CARY, N.C. (WNCN) — Dog larceny is a felony charge not often seen in Wake County.
A 48-year-old Cary man and a 33-year-old Apex woman who work together at Mellow Mushroom were each charged with larceny of a dog on Saturday. The charges came after warrants stated they stole a dog from a Cary apartment.
Officer Dotterman of the Cary Police Department arrested the duo—Michael Bottomley and Brittany Campbell—at the High House at Cary Apartments community. Along Highstone Road, warrants said Campbell and Bottomley broke into the apartment building where they stole and “carried away” a 1-year-old Belgian Malinois/German Shepherd named “Mully.”
Warrants indicate that Mully belongs to the woman whose apartment was broken into. Cary police did say the dog owner and Campbell are family members, but their exact relationship is not known. Further, police did not know if Campbell and Bottomley had an established relationship outside of working together.
According to their arrest records, Campbell and Bottomley were not arrested at the apartment where the larceny reportedly took place. Instead, they were arrested two miles east, at 4300 NW Cary Parkway, which is the location of a Mellow Mushroom.
As to why Campbell and Bottomley reportedly stole the dog, police do not have information on what the motive may have been. It’s also not known if Mully was returned to its owner after the arrests were made.
Arrest records show that of the two, Campbell has more of a history of larceny-related arrests in Wake County. These come in addition to charges of drug trafficking, driving while impaired and assault with a deadly weapon, among others.
Campbell’s larceny-related history includes arrests for a 2015 misdemeanor larceny in Zebulon, a 2016 misdemeanor larceny in Mebane, a 2019 misdemeanor larceny in Raleigh, a 2020 shoplifting in Cary, a 2021 misdemeanor larceny in Cary and a 2022 shoplifting in Cary.
Bottomley also has a history of arrests, though most are related to assaults. His arrest warrants detail multiple assault on female charges and include battery, strangulation and communicating threats. Up until the larceny of a dog on Saturday, records show Bottomley did not have a history of larceny charges.
Note: These charges do not represent convictions. Suspects arrested and charged are considered innocent until proven guilty.