Jackie Luca received a text message about her missing dog.
She was hopeful at the time, but the letter was the beginning of a nightmare that would span several weeks, in which a stranger was standing outside her house late at night and a phone number connected to a murder suspect.
“It's like I'm in the middle of it,” Luca said. “But, you know, where's my dog?”
Rocco, a 2-year-old Rottweiler from Lucca, disappeared from outside her Pasadena home on February 1 when she let him out for a morning walk.
“I walked into the hallway and he was gone,” Luca said.
So I did what many pet owners do. She filled her neighborhood with Rocco's flyers and her phone number.
That's when the texts started.
Someone texted her and told her they found her dog. They sent her pictures of Rocco and said he was now in Palm Desert, about 120 miles east of Pasadena. When they called her, Luca said he heard a dog screaming in pain.
“It kind of broke our family,” Luca said. “People might think they're just dogs, but they're part of our family.”
She said she called police in Palm Desert to escort her to the address, but Rocco wasn't there and the person at the home didn't know what she was talking about.
Then she received another message from the person who claimed to own her dog. They wanted $500 and said Rocco would go to the farm. They gave her more titles, but nothing worked.
Things got more confusing from there.
Luca received a message from a second phone number about the dog. It also included a title. She shared the phone number with police, who said they traced it to a man wanted for murder.
The Los Angeles County Police Department has now taken interest in the case.
“They got back to me very quickly and wanted me to meet this guy,” Luca said. “In the back of my head I thought, ‘Oh, they’re doing this for my dog.’”
The number is linked to Eduardo Sanchez, a man wanted for the murder of 14-year-old Ivan Villarreal on August 10, 2021, Luca said.
Sheriff's Department homicide investigators said there is no additional information to report regarding the investigation into Sanchez.
Meanwhile, Lucca continued to receive Rocco's private texts and photos, and sheriff's investigators encouraged her to respond.
Maybe he likes you, the detective said. Maybe we can use that to lure him, Luca said.
Los Angeles Magazine first reported on Luca's ordeal. Since then, Dodgers fan and 14-year-old Pasadena resident Chihuahua Buddy has died. She believes he died of a broken heart after stealing Rocco.
And the pain did not stop. Luca keeps receiving messages. One of the last messages mentioned that Rocco was dead and asked if she wanted his fur.
At one point, Luca's teenage daughter sent a message to one of the people who claimed to possess Rocco and tried to appeal to their humanity. This person sent pictures of a naked man in response.
Adding to the mystery is that Luca says a man showed up outside her house late at night several times. He tried to open her front door and taunted Luca's security cameras. She said she called police during one incident but he was gone when officers arrived hours later.
Luca said one of her neighbors is convinced they have seen the man before and that he was the one who stole her dog.
Pasadena Police are trying to verify if there is any connection between the man and the people who allegedly took Luca's dog.
Luca said the man returned outside her house late one night. Concerned for her daughters' safety, she called the police and sent a letter to the investigator handling the case. But again the man was gone when police arrived about three hours later, according to Lucca.
Pasadena Police Lt. Tim Bondy said there were multiple angles investigators could take in the investigation, adding that it was unclear whether the person who showed up outside her home had anything to do with the missing dog.
“At this time, there is no connection between the dog’s disappearance and the people who contacted her,” Bondi said. “It's hard to determine whether the people texting her are trying to trick her into getting a reward or whether they have her dog.”
Luca now says someone is stalking her on Facebook and she doesn't know what to do next, other than keep trying to get Rocco back.
