A man is offering a $50,000 cash reward for the safe return of his two beloved dogs that were taken in a carjacking at a West Hills fast food parking lot.
Darian Chin is hoping the lucrative incentive will get the public to help him reunite with his 9-year-old terrier mix, Buddy, and his 5-year-old Italian greyhound, Bailey. The pooches were inside his SUV with the air conditioner running when the carjacking occurred.
“I stepped into McDonald’s briefly for, like, a few minutes, and when I turned around, I saw an about 20-year-old woman in my car, taking off in my car,” Chin said.
The carjacking and dognapping happened at about 5 p.m. near the intersection of Victory Boulevard and Platt Avenue. In a desperate attempt to save his pets, Chin held onto his vehicle to try to stop the driver.
“She finally backed up the car while I was trying to hang on to the car, turn around, and then she exited the parking lot at a high rate of speed into the street,” Chin said. “I held onto the car on the driver’s side and she went into the middle of the street with me hanging onto the car.”
The rear of the car was damaged during the dramatic ordeal. Chin’s stolen vehicle is described as a black Lexus SUV with a distinctive roof rack by Yakima, with a license plate that reads 9VGK703.
The victim said he immediately called 911 to report the crime. While investigators look into the case and help Chin search for his car, he’s making an urgent plea to the public:
“The primary concern is our dogs that we want to get back, and we want to offer a $50,000 cash reward for the safe return of both dogs, no questions asked,” he said. “The car has our registration and our address in it. Feel free to drop off the dogs and we’ll get the money to you somehow anonymously.”