A stolen rental car, two kidnapped dogs, one trashed hotel room and an epic road trip are among a bizarre set of police allegations levelled against a Sydney man in Wollongong court this week.
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John Ross Birch, was arrested at a house in Mt Warrigal on Wednesday afternoon – wanted for a month over the alleged trashing of a Parramatta hotel room in which police found two pug puppies allegedly stolen from a house in rural NSW.
While it is not suggested Birch took the animals – he is only charged with a possession offence (plus an additional damage property offence) – police documents have revealed the strange set of circumstances which allegedly brought the pugs into Birch’s care.
Police claim Birch’s ex-girlfriend and an acquaintance made contact with a woman on Facebook on May 23 asking to buy a pug puppy advertised for sale.
On May 26, the acquaintance allegedly drove a stolen, gold-coloured Toyota hire car to the woman’s home town of Young.
The woman later told police she didn’t hear their car pull up outside the house, but when she went to her front door around 9am she saw two of her dogs – ‘Mouse’ (female) and ‘Pugsley’ (male) – being loaded into the back of a gold Toyota. The car drove away before she could stop the theft, police said.
Three days later, Birch booked a room at the Fiori Apartments in Parramatta, checking in at 5 o’clock the next morning.
CCTV footage allegedly shows Birch and a woman, who police say was the ex-girlfriend, carrying the pugs into the room in violation of hotel policy.
The pair failed to check out on May 31 as scheduled, prompting staff to enter the room while Birch and the woman were out. Inside they found both dogs locked in the bathroom.
When the pair still did not attend the hotel that afternoon, staff contacted police, who seized the animals.
Birch and the woman left the hotel the following morning without checking out. It is alleged their room was discovered trashed, with visible slash marks, believed to be from a knife, found in lounges, chairs, blinds and on a table.
Dog feaces and urine left from the previous day had also not been cleaned up.
In seeking bail in court on Wednesday, Birch’s lawyer said it was unlikely he would receive a jail sentence if convicted of the charges.
However, Magistrate Mark Douglass the application and adjourned the case.
