Police Searching For Trio That Stole South Philly Cat
UPDATE MAY 2 2025 2:00 PM Artemis was reunited this his owners shortly after 9:00 AM. He was turned in as a stray to ACCT on Hunting Park Avenue, he is in good health. Increased pressure from social media is being credited to the reunion. The thieves that stole him are still at large and their owners Andrew and Dominque have no idea what happened to him. Anyone that wants their donation back can get it , said Andrew, otherwise it will go to help lost or missing pets.
Original story below.
Police are search for a trio of thieves that took a family pet from the 1500 block of South Hicks Street on Saturday about 8:00 PM, police said. Two Hispanic teenagers ,one of whom was riding a bicycle petting the trusting cat and then picking him up. They carried him to a White Dodge Durango that had black accents on it.
The incident was caught on carious cameras and now police are using technology such as licensee plate readers and additional security cameras to track down the cat, named Artemis. He was a pet of Andrew and Dominique Mojica, who, are devastated. When the Monjica’s saw the cat get snatched, Andrew followed from a Vespa scooter, and watched as the boys got into the Durango. It was operated by a black female who was loud on a cellphone.
Artemis had an Airtag and a collar. The Airtag picked up the signal by city hall and then into part of North Philadelphia. It was tracked to Chelten Avenue and to a C-Town Supermarket. It was unoccupied. It was on West Lehigh and 25th Street that the driver spotted Mojica and dumped the AirTag. This thief knew what she did and knew she was made.
Instead of turning over the cat and apologizing, she sped off , eventually dumping the collar in North Philly. Mojica recovered the collar but no cat. Police have lots of security cameras to look at and evidence to comb through.
Meanwhile Mojica returns to the area every day to try to find the cat. The Artemis was loved the the entire block of S. Hicks Street. What the three thieves did or intended to do with Artemus is unknown. When he was snatched, one of the thieves shouted “We’ve got another one”.
When police are ready to make the arrest, they will do it on their terms, not when it’s convenient for the thieves. Doors will be kicked in at dawn, or at dinnertime. People can be arrested at work or school, or perhaps when they are out with friends or family, causing intense embarrassment.
That does not have to happen. Mojica has posted flyers around the city and is asking for the safe return or information as to what happened to his pet. A reward is going to be offered.