Pet bunny among ‘rash of thefts’ in Petaluma neighborhood

Who stole Snowy the bunny?

That’s the question Petaluma police, local residents and a little girl are asking after a spree of thefts in an east side neighborhood Monday culminated in a pet bunny rabbit being stolen out of its backyard hutch.

Described by police as “a rash of thefts in the Cerro Sonoma and South Gate neighborhoods,” the spree – occurring in the early morning hours of Monday, Aug. 26 – involved “more than 10 reports of vehicle burglaries,” police said, and involved a variety of items including cash, IDs, headphones and other devices, a compound bow, and two BB guns.

But for Ben and Nicoleta Philpot, none of the stolen items were more cherished than their daughter’s pet bunny, Snowy.

Remi, 6, “is devastated that her bunny was stolen,” Nicoleta Philpot said in an email to the Argus-Courier.

“We’ve been posting everywhere, making the police reports, hoping that by some miracle someone recognizes the individuals or comes across a bunny that may have been left out or dumped in the wild,” she said. “We suspect it may have been on foot and maybe don’t live too far.”

The worried mother added that “There is lots of video footage, we have quite a bit of ourselves of two young men checking people’s cars, breaking in windows, looking in mailboxes and going into the backyards.”

Compiled by Ben Philpot and posted on YouTube, the surveillance footage shows two suspects, their faces covered, checking the family’s mailbox and car doors at around 4:20 am Monday. Then, “After walking around our backyard, they noticed we had a large rabbit enclosure, probably because they scared the bunnies,” Nicoleta Philpot said, “and one of them reached in and grabbed one of them and walked away with it.”

Police said the other thefts involved both locked and unlocked cars, with some vehicles having their windows smashed in. In one case, the suspects used a garage door opener to enter a resident’s garage and rummage through cabinets.

“There were over six reports made to the police in my neighborhood between Frates and Casa Grande, and over 10 reports made that same night in the Southgate neighborhood across” Ely Street, Nicoleta Philpot said.

Police are asking anyone with possible information about the thefts, or who may recognize the two suspects, to contact investigators at 707-778-4372.