Suspected pet shelter burglar charged again

One of the men charged in last month's dog abduction at a local pet shelter has been charged with another theft, which took place at the same shelter five weeks earlier, deputies said.

On July 16, Juan Carlos Claudio, 26, of 16161 Fullington Road, jumped the fence at the Humane Society of the Nature Coast and stole a black and white pit bull mix, according to the Hernando County Sheriff's Office.

Claudio and Jose Angel Navarro, 20, were arrested Aug. 23 on commercial burglary charges. They are suspected of entering the shelter after business hours and stealing five dogs - two dachshunds and three pit bulls.

The Humane Society facility is located at the corner of Mobley and Wiscon roads.

One of the dachshunds was found dead near the shelter while the other four were recovered.

Deputies responded to a tip Aug. 20 and found two of the dogs roaming near the road in the 16000 block of Fullington, according to a media release.

They canvassed the neighborhood, knocked on the door at the suspects' home, and saw a dachshund inside the house after a female answered, deputies said.

The female told deputies that Claudio and his cousin, Navarro, brought home the dogs, but did not tell her how they found them, according to the sheriff's office.

Claudio said after his arrest he took the dogs with the intention of selling them so he could repay a debt, deputies said.

The dog Claudio stole from the shelter in July still has not been recovered, said Sgt. Donna Black, a sheriff's spokeswoman.

Deputies continue to follow leads on the dog's whereabouts, she said.