Maryland
Alleged Maryland puppy thief pretended to show interest before stealing and selling them, documents say
A man who allegedly stole seven puppies in a Maryland county had pretended to purchase them before returning for the theft, according to charging documents obtained by WJZ.
Charging documents say 28-year-old Kahili Hines stole the puppies from a Harford County apartment before selling them outside of Arundel Mills Mall.
“In my experience, we have not had a theft involving a litter of puppies, so this was definitely unique,” said Aberdeen Police Captain Will Reiber.
Hines is facing charges of burglary and theft.
Reiber told WJZ this theft is unlike any case he’s seen before.
“Our detectives, through the course of the investigation, were able to narrow down a suspect, and through that it was determined that the dogs were potentially sold in the area of Arundel Mills Mall in Anne Arundel County,” Reiber said.
The alleged puppy theft
On Nov. 14, the alleged victim, who was selling the puppies for his sister, got a call from an acquaintance about her nephew wanting to purchase one of the puppies, according to charging documents.
The two came over to see the animals, and the nephew, identified as Hines, said he had to leave to get money to pay for the puppy.
According to the documents, the victim then fell asleep, and when he woke up hours later, “he observed all seven puppies, along with the mother dog, missing from his apartment.”
“The relationships between animals and humans, it’s a very strong bond,” Reiber said. “And I can only imagine as a dog owner myself what it would feel like to go through that separation from your puppy, something you’ve just brought into the world and want to sell and do the best for.”
On Nov. 30, the victim, the victim’s sister, and the acquaintance all FaceTimed, and the acquaintance told them her nephew had the puppies, according to charging documents.
Weeks later, the victim identified Hines as the man who came to his apartment showing interest in the puppies on Nov. 14.
Puppies sold outside of Maryland mall
Hines was arrested and told investigators he sold the puppies from a wagon outside of Arundel Mills Mall.
“We believe those puppies are still out there,” Reiber said. “We are not trying to recover the dogs and take them from the new relationships that have been formed. The owner of the puppies just wants to make sure the puppies have found a safe home and also we would love to get the details form anyone that purchased a puppy to find out where the animal was purchased, and more details into how they came into possession of the dog.”
Anyone with information should call the Aberdeen Police Department.
POTOMAC, Maryland (WGME) — The man accused of killing a Maine millionaire at a Maryland senior living facility has been found not competent to stand trial.
Twenty-two-year-old Maurquise James of Baltimore is accused of killing 87-year-old Robert Fuller on February 14 inside his apartment at Cogir Assisted Living in Potomac, Maryland, where James worked as one of Fuller’s caregivers.
He was arrested by police after a separate incident, where he shot at a Maryland State Trooper during a traffic stop just 10 days after allegedly killing Fuller.
Suspect in killing of Robert Fuller Jr., a Maine lawyer and philanthropist, who{ }was shot to death at a senior living facility in Maryland. (Montgomery County police)
According to WJLA, a judge ruled James is incompetent and “dangerous,” ordering him held in a psychiatric facility until his next evaluation in November.
While the criminal case moves forward, questions remain about what facility leaders knew before Fuller’s death.
The family of Fuller’s longtime partner, Linda Buttrick, has filed a civil lawsuit claiming management ignored repeated warnings about James’ behavior.
According to WJLA, Buttrick and Fuller lived together at the Cogir senior living facility. She was inside their apartment when Fuller was fatally shot, allegedly by James , who was a Cogir Medicine Technician.
The lawsuit alleges James’ mother — a senior director at the facility — suppressed complaints and retaliated against staff who raised concerns, including firing a nurse who documented issues with James just 11 days before the killing.
Cogir Potomac Senior Living (WJLA)
In the days following the killing, multiple employees — and Buttrick herself — identified James to police as a possible suspect or person of interest, according to the filing. Despite that, the lawsuit said Cogir continued assigning him as Buttrick’s medication technician and sent him alone into the apartment where Fuller had been killed.
“Buttrick, who has Parkinson’s disease and had just discovered her partner’s body, was required to receive medications from the hands of the man she identified to police as a suspect,” the complaint states. “She was alone in her home, which was still a crime scene, with zero protection and no recourse.”
The lawsuit seeks to hold Cogir accountable for what it describes as “violations of Ms. Buttrick’s safety and dignity” and an “institutional disregard for resident welfare” that the family believes contributed to Fuller’s death.
Cogir of Potomac did not immediately respond to WJLA’s request for comment.
Fuller practiced law in Maine for more than 35 years, was a senior officer in the Naval Reserve, and authored the murder mystery novel “Unnatural Deaths,” published in 2009.
His philanthropy included contributions to many institutions in the Augusta area, including a $1.64 million gift in 2021 to modernize Cony High School’s Alumni Field complex, according to the Bangor Daily News.
Robert Fuller Jr., a Maine lawyer and philanthropist, was shot to death at a senior living facility in Maryland on Saturday. He was 87. (WJLA)
The BDN reports he was a descendant of Supreme Court Chief Justice Melville Fuller, who served from 1888 to 1910 and notably voted to uphold the “separate but equal” decision in the landmark Plessy v. Ferguson.
Fuller commissioned a statue of his ancestor in 2013 that was installed in front of the old Kennebec County courthouse in Augusta. However, the BDN reports the statue became controversial after the killing of George Floyd in 2020 and the scrutiny that followed of the county’s history of racial injustice. Fuller agreed to take the statue back and pay for its removal.
Fuller had reportedly moved to the Washington D.C. area to be closer to family before moving into the senior living facility.
Ethan Andrews with the Bangor Daily News and WJLA contributed to this report.
Flood Watch
until TUE 11:00 PM EDT, Lumpkin County, Pickens County, Walker County, Dade County, Gilmer County, Haralson County, Polk County, Whitfield County, Heard County, Fannin County, White County, Cherokee County, Catoosa County, North Fulton County, Dawson County, Gordon County, South Fulton County, Carroll County, Cobb County, Murray County, Union County, Towns County, Floyd County, Forsyth County, Coweta County, Bartow County, Paulding County, Douglas County, Hall County, Chattooga County
BALTIMORE (WBFF) — Updated 6:30 a.m. May 25 — The rainy pattern continues before warmer temperatures and drier weather return later this week.
Memorial Day comes with more scattered showers and a pop up storm with highs in the warmer mid to upper 70s.
Tuesday and Wednesday bring more scattered showers with highs in the warm upper 70s and low 80s.
After that, high temperatures will be in the upper 70s to low 80s through the end of the week with mostly dry days.
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