Alert neighbors helped police locate a Bullmastiff dog that was stolen out of a back yard in Linton last Saturday evening.

John Michael Gossett, 22, Linton, was arrested by Officer John Agan of the Linton Police Department last Saturday evening, May 9.

Gossett has been charged with theft, a Class A misdemeanor, for allegedly stealing a Bullmastiff dog.

Officer Agan was on duty last Saturday around 7:30 p.m. when a woman came into the police department to report that sometime between 6 and 7 p.m., her Bullmastiff dog was stolen from her back yard. She had taken the dog outside to go to the bathroom and when she went back, the dog was gone. She provided officers with a photo of the dog.

She also said a man who lives in the same neighborhood and was familiar with her dog called her and told her he saw a man and a woman walking with her dog.

When another officer talked to the man on the phone, he was able to describe the man and woman and the clothing they were wearing. Although he didn’t know them, he knew where they lived.

When officers arrived at the residence of the suspects, they were invited in by a woman who matched the description and was wearing a pink shirt as described. They also saw a dog there that matched the dog in the photograph. And they saw a bright fluorescent green sweatshirt in the residence that matched the one worn by the male suspect, who was then identified as Gossett.

The woman allegedly admitted when they called to the dog and it came to them, it was Gossett’s idea to take the dog and he took off the dog’s collar and replaced it with another collar and did not intend to return the dog to the owner.

While officers were speaking to the woman, another man in the neighborhood made contact with police and told officers that he can see the dog owner’s back yard from his kitchen window and he witnessed Gossett and the woman go into the back yard, and watched Gossett unhook the Bullmastiff from the chain and take the dog.

By 8:36 p.m., Gossett had been booked into the Greene County Jail.

When Gossett appeared in Greene Superior Court for an initial hearing yesterday morning, Monday, May 12, a public defender was appointed to represent him and court records indicate a resolution has already been reached between the prosecution and defense. Gossett was released on his own recognizance and a change of plea hearing is set for July 8.