A Lorain County family is hoping that the person who broke into their home, stole their money and abused their pets Dec. 8 will be caught and jailed for the incident.
Elyria resident Lisa Dennis, 33, said she was at work when she received a text just before 6 p.m. from her ex-boyfriend Jason DeWitt, 36, that his back door was open and one of their dogs was missing from his Lorain home on the 1800 block of East 34th Street. DeWitt said he locked and double-checked the door prior to leaving his home that morning. When Dennis got to DeWitt’s home to help search for the dog, she and DeWitt, who is the father of their 8-year-old-daughter Alissa, found that $1,000 in cash and a handful of electronics, including a PlayStation 3, a Nintendo Wii and a tablet, were stolen from the home.
DeWitt said he was saving money from his job delivering car parts to pay for rent and buy Christmas gifts. They were hoping they, along with their daughter and Dennis’ 11-year-old son, James, could use the savings to celebrate the holidays together, Dennis said.
‘Right now, we don’t know what to do; it’s a shame,’ she said. ‘We don’t make much money, and so that’s why we’ve decided to do Christmas together (this year).’
Worst of all, she said, the pair found their two dogs ‘beaten up’ in the home, a Lorain police report confirmed. Dennis said Bizzy, a boxer Dalmatian mix who has cancer and ‘doesn’t have much time left,’ was found very badly swollen in DeWitt’s bedroom.
‘They beat him up pretty decent, so he was scared and hiding,’ DeWitt said of the dog, which he’s had for about 10 years since Bizzy was a puppy. ‘It broke my heart. They’re part of the family. I felt kind of crappy (that) I wasn’t there to protect them. It wasn’t a good feeling.’
Their pit bull mix Isabelle was also found on the couch with a swollen face, and the family says the suspect rifled through the ashes of a family dog that died 11 years ago.
‘That is very gut-wrenching,’ Dennis said. ‘It sickens us.’
Dennis said the dogs, which were both rescues, are family.
‘Items can be replaced, but not your family members,’ she said.
Jewelry also was stolen from the home, including DeWitt’s engagement ring from his prior relationship with Dennis, as well as a gold plated ring given to him by his grandfather before he died in April.
‘My grandfather just passed away the day before Easter,’ he said. ‘It was sentimental because he just passed away.’
A Lorain police report filed on the incident said police responded to the home before 7 p.m. and met with DeWitt, who said he left his house at about 8:15 a.m. for a doctor’s appointment and then went to work. There, he received a call from his mother Debbie DeWitt, 56, who lives in the same duplex, and said she saw the back door of his home was wide open and that she couldn’t find one of his dogs.
At the scene, police noticed a crow bar in the back yard near where the home’s fence was broken. Police seized the crowbar, which DeWitt said was not his, to test for evidence in case a suspect who used the tool to break in is apprehended.
DeWitt and Dennis’ 8-year-old daughter told police she saw a younger Hispanic male who appeared to be a teenager break the fence between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. Dec. 7. She said the male was wearing a blue, short-sleeved T-shirt and blue jeans. She also said she saw him put a box in the alley on the other side of the fence to the rear of the home.
Police searched the area but did not find a suspect or stolen property at that time, the report said.
Police Lt. Michael Failing said the city of Lorain has experienced a rash of burglaries and breaking and entering incidents over the past few weeks in central Lorain, as well as a few blocks away from Lorain High School in south Lorain. He said these incidents are expected with the holidays nearing.
‘It’s always a tough time,’ Failing said.
The investigation into the burglary that occurred at DeWitt’s home is active, he said.
Dennis noted that the health of their pets has thankfully improved since the incident. The family said they have no bad ties to any neighbors and are unsure of who is responsible.
However, they hope the suspect will be caught and that their situation can help spread awareness about burglaries in the area and help other families.
‘We just want whoever did this to be caught because who would do this, especially to pets?’ Dennis said. ‘We just want whoever did this caught.’
Anyone with information on this incident can call Lorain police at 440-204-2100.
