The woman said her Uber Eats delivery driver had just arrived, and her dogs rushed to her apartment door. Her 6-month-old cockapoo Ella got out — and was later seen on video being put inside an SUV before the driver took off
A Brooklyn woman is still reeling as she says that a pizza deliveryman is behind the heartless theft of her beloved puppy, a crime that appears to have been captured on surveillance video.
“I don’t know where Ella is and I know she’s scared and you know, she’s all alone,” said Melanie Polanco.
Police said it happened Saturday night, as Polanco’s Uber Eats delivery driver just arrived. Her dogs, including 6-month-old cockapoo Ella, ran to the door and started barking.
“I blocked the door with my foot so she didn’t escape, I was like ‘Ella don’t go.’ So Michael, the Uber driver (and) delivery man knew that she was my dog.”
Despite Polanco’s best efforts, Ella did escape. What happened next, Polanco said, was caught on camera: She said the same man who dropped off her food was seen getting onto the elevator holding Ella in his arms.
“I woke up the next morning, looked at the camera footage and it was clear as day: he took Ella,” Polanco said. The man then walks out the front door of the building and leaves, she said.
“You see him carrying Ella in her orange dress, putting her into a black SUV, the passenger side, and then he goes around to the driver’s side and drives off,” Polanco told NBC New York, still in disbelief of what she watched.