Charlotte woman says she’s being extorted to get her stolen dog back

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Charlotte woman says she being extorted by the man who stole her dog and car.

Two weekends ago, Jayla Gittens’ car was stolen from her north Charlotte apartment complex. Gittens’ dog, Julio, was in the car when the thief took off.

This past Friday, her car was found, but the 6-year-old French Bulldog was not.

To make it worse, Gittens says the thief has reached out to her demanding money to get Julio back. “Essentially trying to hold my dog for ransom. He was commenting like, you know, if you want your dog, give me a thousand (dollars),” said Gittens on her social media post.

Gittens says the thief also sent a video to her brother, showing the thief and another person driving Gittens’ stolen car. Julio was also in the video. “Seeing that, it really, really angered me,” Gittens said of seeing the video.

Gittens said she’s not only angered and frightened by the video, but it also gave her hope and comfort knowing her dog is close and hopefully close to being found. Gittens said she has been updated by CMPD recently but couldn’t share details.

We reached out to CMPD for more information,  we have not heard back.

Gittens is offering a $500 reward for Julio’s safe return. Crime Stoppers is also offering a reward for information that leads to an arrest.