Home burglary begins with dog killing

It appears that the home burglar was thorough.

He knew that Jerrod Maguire would be running in the Boston Marathon on April 21. He may have also seen Maguire's wife using her debit card and knew her PIN. And he knew that Maguire had a black Labrador retriever named Jack.

So, with military precision, he executed the plan, literally starting with the dog.

Maguire's 9-year-old lab was poisoned and killed on April 17.

Then, on April 18, using the now unguarded doggy door, the burglar entered the home near Desert Foothills Parkway and Chandler Boulevard.

"I think they anticipated that the house would be empty and they would have all week to take what they wanted," Maguire said.

But his wife and child didn't go with him to Boston for the marathon and were upstairs. So the robber grabbed what he could and left, carting off some cash, his wife's purse and a digital camera.

"Within 17 minutes of breaking into my house he was using my credit cards," Maguire said.

And how does he know it was a "he?"

That's the second part of the story.

Maguire went to some of the businesses where the credit cards were used and now has surveillance photos showing a man in an Astros T-shirt using the credit cards.

But because of police procedures, video tapes and photos from the Phoenix stores where the cards were used didn't arrive at police headquarters until last week, and probably didn't get to the detective until yesterday or today.

Maguire's credit cards were also used in Tempe and Mesa, which, according to Sgt. Joel Tranter, a Phoenix Police Department spokesman, means working with other police departments to obtain those photos and videos.

In addition, all credit card crimes means the Document Crimes Bureau will be working with the robbery detail.

"It does take time," said Tranter, who admitted that he could see how Maguire could get frustrated at what looks like a slow-paced investigation.

"We're working it and we're processing it," Tranter said.

Meanwhile, Maguire wants to find the man who killed his dog Jack, who he had raised since a pup.

"It wasn't easy, that's why it's personal and I want to find this guy," Maguire said.