Police: Teenagers Stole Hunt Club Dogs

Goose Creek Police say three teens stole hunting dogs from hunt clubs around Berkeley County.

A 16-year-old Goose Creek boy is among those accused of being in possession of stolen property. Dakota Thomas Skaggs, 18, of Goose Creek and Michael Allen Glass, 19, of Goose Creek also have warrants pending for possession of stolen property, according to a Goose Creek Police incident report.

On July 1, police responded to Colonial Heights in response to a disturbance. According to the report, three suspects were bragging on Facebook about having stolen an unknown number of dogs from different hunting clubs in Berkeley County. The dogs stolen were Walker hounds. 

According to the report, an owner of some of the dogs chased the suspects' vehicle on June 30, and later tracked them to a residence in Colonial Heights. 

One of the men who went to a suspect's residence among other dog owners spoke to Patch, but asked his name not be published. 

"I got my two (dogs) back but there is like 12 other people that came to the site that night, and they wanted to press charges," he said. 

The dog owner said this happened last year, too. Suspects cut and damaged enclosures. He said he's not sure what the teens planned with the dogs but that the dogs could be sold for a profit.

"You can sell a good hunting dog for a lot of money," he said. "If you miss a dog, you're missing money out of your pocket ... it's like stealing out of your pocketbook." 

The Moncks Corner man said a good dog at a competition could win thousands of dollars for its owner. 

"It was even worse last year, they stole a lot of dogs that people paid $500-$600 for," he said. 

Skaggs allegedly admitted to an officer to taking the dogs from a kennel. 

Glass and Skaggs will have arrest warrants for possession of stolen property, according to the incident report. The report says the two voluntarily handed over some of the dogs.

The case against the 16-year-old will be transfered to Family Court for prosecution. 

Other dogs are still missing in Berkeley County, according to the report.