Man accused of stealing Lucky the dog arrives in Westmoreland County to face charges

The man accused of stealing a car with a veteran's beloved dog inside is back in Westmoreland County after he was arrested in North Carolina last year.  

After more than seven months in a North Carolina jail, Kenneth Crider has returned to western Pennsylvania to face the charges stemming from the theft of Willard Martz's car and dog Lucky.

On Tuesday, 44-year-old Kenneth Crider of Maryland was walked into the Pennsylvania State Police barracks in Greensburg after months of fighting extradition back to Pennsylvania.

Trooper Steve Limani says that getting Crider back to the commonwealth took months and that Crider will face multiple charges in Pennsylvania, including felony robbery and theft of a motor vehicle.

"Right now, he is going to be arraigned, and at which point in time a judge will set a bond," Limani said. "I don't want to guess what it is, it'd be hard to believe that it wouldn't be some type of non-monetary bond considering he obviously is a flight risk."

It was last September when Crider stole a car from then-87-year-old Willard Martz at the Tractor Supply store in Mt. Pleasant. In Martz's car was his dog Lucky, who was also stolen.

Crider and Lucky were last seen at the Connellsville Walmart before being arrested days later by officials in North Carolina after a brazen high-speed pursuit along I-95.

While Martz's stolen car was recovered after that chase, Lucky the dog was missing.

Crider claims he let the dog go near an "unknown rest stop between Myrtle Beach and Nash County," in North Carolina, roughly 500 miles away from Lucky's home back in Pennsylvania.

The search for Lucky sparked massive public interest, with a Facebook group called Bring Lucky Home to PA amassing thousands of followers. Billboards even went up across the Pittsburgh area, trying to spread the message. 

Trooper Limani says that the fact that Lucky is still missing is one of the most disappointing parts of this entire case.

"He's at the Connellsville Walmart, he has the dog outside of the vehicle," Limani said. "He could have made a decision just to let the dog go or he could have dropped that dog off almost anywhere where there's some type of people or a shelter. He had lots of opportunities to do something to alleviate the stress that this family is going through. I am hoping that he decides to make the right decision when it comes to sitting down with our investigators and I just pray that we get Lucky."

There is no word yet on when Crider will be brought to trial.