Man Sentenced To Year In Prison For Bloomfield Township Dog Theft

BLOOMFIELD TWP. (WWJ) - A man who stole a Siberian husky from outside of a Bloomfield Township grocery story is headed to jail.

Hometownlife.com reports a 48th District Court judge on Thursday sentenced 29-year-old Joseph Benson of Clarkston to a year behind bars.

Benson, who pleaded no contest last month to a charge of misdemeanor larceny of $200 or more but less than $1,000, said he's sorry for "any heartache" or "problems" he caused.

The husky's owner, Chris Barnett left the dog, named "Kodi," tied up in front of Kroger, on Long Lake and Telegraph roads, back in December. When he returned about 20 minutes later, Kodi was gone, and witnesses said a man in a Jeep Wrangler had driven off with the dog.

The next day, the owner reportedly received an anonymous Facebook message that included a photo of Kodi and a photo of Benson, along with his name and address. The owner passed the information on to police, who found the dog unharmed at a mobile home park where Benson was staying with his mother.

Police said Benson removed the dog's collar, which had tags with his owner's name and phone number, and appeared to have intended to keep him.

Benson has an extensive criminal history, according to authorities, which accounts for the judge sentencing him to the maximum allowed for the larceny charge.

According to reports, Benson was on probation in Ohio for a forgery charge and had several convictions for drugs and property crimes in Georgia. The Michigan Department of Corrections database shows, previous to this case, Benson most recently served time on a 2014 conviction for receiving stolen property.