Chicago man accused of stealing van filled with puppies on North Side

A Chicago man was expected in court Wednesday, charged with stealing a purple van with at least eight puppies inside that belonged to a Lincoln Park pet salon.

There were no reports of injuries to the dogs.

Edwin Herrera, 46, was charged with several charges of theft and felony counts of possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of burglary tools and possessing a stolen or altered title and registration, Chicago police said.

Around 11:10 a.m. Tuesday, a purple 2021 Ford van that was reported stolen from Animal Lover's Pet Salon, 2232 N. Clybourn Ave., earlier in the day was seen traveling north on Clark Street with swapped license plates, according to police reports obtained by the Sun-Times.

Officers left their emergency lights off and followed the van until it stopped in an alley in the 1200 block of West Oakdale Avenue in the Lake View neighborhood where the puppies were seen in cages, police said.

Herrera was seen walking out of a garage and was arrested after he matched the description of the van driver based on surveillance captured near where the van was stolen, officials said.

A flathead screwdriver was found at the scene and matched flathead screws that were used to change the license plates, according to the report.

Herrera, of the Austin neighborhood, was set to appear before a Cook County judge at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse Wednesday.