Technology helped Scottsboro Police find an Athens man accused of stealing two Yorkie dogs, a bust in which Athens Police Department assisted, an official said.

On April 15, Scottsboro officers arrested Charles Edmond Dryer III, 33, of 16554 Becky Drive, on a charge of second-degree theft in connection with the theft of a dog a Scottsboro man was recently trying to sell, records show. He is also facing charges in Boaz, where he is accused of striking and injuring a woman who was trying to prevent him from driving away with a dog she was trying to sell, an official said.

Scottsboro Police Capt. Barry Capps said the case began Jan. 7 when Danny Sanders of Scottsboro listed his Yorkie for sale on Craigslist. A man contacted Sanders, and after the two had exchanged text messages for a few days, they met at a local business, Capps said.

The prospective dog buyer arrived in a white Dodge Avenger, talked to Sanders and asked if he could put the Yorkie in his car to see if his own dog would accept the Yorkie before he agreed to buy it. After a few minutes passed, the “buyer” closed his car door and drove off with the Yorkie without paying for it, the chief said.

Scottsboro Police Detective Sgt. Zackie Gant and Officer Scott Hamilton determined a similar crime had occurred in Boaz and that the suspect in that case was a man driving a white Dodge Avenger.

“The lady in Boaz (Becky Garmany) tried to stop him, and he ended up hitting her with his vehicle, injuring her rib and wrist, I think,” Capps said.

Gant was able to determine Dryer had used a computer application, or app, that allowed him to use a fake telephone number when he sent a text to the dog sellers. By obtaining records from the computer application provider and his Internet provider, police obtained records that led them to Dryer’s home on Becky Drive in Athens.

When Scottsboro police arrived, with Athens Police Officer Kelly Fussell and Detective Johnny Campbell assisting, they found the dogs and the vehicle. Dryer drove up while police were there and began to drive away before an Athens police officer stopped him, Capp said. Dryer was arrested and charged with second-degree theft. The dogs were recovered and returned to their owners. Dryer will also face charges in Boaz.

No connection to local dog thefts

Although Athens has had recent reports of dogs being taken from yards, Police Chief Floyd Johnson does not believe they are related.

“I don’t think there is any connection because these cases are totally different,” Johnson said. “He went to people who were trying to sell dogs and the cases in Athens were pretty simple, dogs taken out of their yards. In one of those cases, it turned out to be a husband who took the dog from his wife. It was a custody issue.”