Man accused of stealing Pittsburgh-area veteran's beloved dog Lucky pleads guilty

The man accused of stealing a car with Lucky, a Westmoreland County veteran's beloved dog, inside has pleaded guilty.

Instead of discussing next steps during a scheduled pre-trial hearing on Monday, Kenneth Crider pleaded guilty to several charges, including robbery, theft, receiving stolen property and fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer and was sentenced to 14 months to 10 years. 

Lucky's owner Willard Martz was in the courtroom on Monday. 

"I was happy that he's going to pay a price for what he did, but by the same token, he never looked in my direction. Just seemed so detached," Martz said.  

Crider was charged with stealing Lucky, a 10-year-old Airedale-terrier mix, last September. 

Police said Crider took the keys from Martz's pants pocket while he was walking into the Tractor Supply in East Huntingdon. Investigators said Crider hopped into the car and drove off, with Lucky still inside.

Crider was caught about a week later after a police chase in North Carolina, but Lucky wasn't with him. He told detectives he let Lucky go "at an unknown rest stop between Myrtle Beach and Nash County," around 500 miles from Lucky's home in Westmoreland County.

Martz's loss resulted in an outpouring of support from the community. In the courtroom on Monday, Martz was joined by a group of women wearing "Where's Lucky" t-shirts. They were part of a Facebook group called Bring Lucky Home to PA, which had 14,000 members as people tried to find Martz's dog. An advertising agency even donated seven billboards to help find Lucky.

While there were reports of stray dogs who looked like Lucky, he's still missing.