Attempted dog-napper gets his punishment for taking Tiny

A 19-year-old man has been put on probation for his role in the violent theft from a woman in St. Paul of a pricey dog that he and an accomplice tried to sell for a quick buck.

Jordan Dekese Frost of St. Paul was sentenced in Ramsey County District Court this week after pleading guilty to robbery in connection with the theft of a French bulldog-Boston terrier mix named Clementine on April 24, 2024, near the intersection of York Avenue and Arkwright Street.

Along with two years’ probation, the sentence includes that Frost have no contact with the woman and pay a $50 fine.

In November, accomplice Lonnie Ray Jenkins, 19, of St. Paul, was sentenced to a nearly 3½-year term after pleading guilty to first-degree aggravated robbery.

According to the complaint:

The dog’s owner said she and Clementine, also affectionately called Tiny, were on their way to get ice cream late in the afternoon when two men started following her. She crossed the street out of concern for her safety, and the two men did the same. Once she got to her front steps, one man pushed her to the ground while the other grabbed Tiny and ran off.

The woman told police that Tiny is worth thousands of dollars and had an embedded electronic identification chip. She feared that if Tiny didn’t get her medication, the dog would fall ill, she said.

A man later told police he was asked by a man whether he wanted to buy a French bulldog for $700. The man went into the bottom unit of a residential building in the 500 block of Selby Avenue and saw the dog, which appeared to be sick and lethargic.

The man left without buying the dog and went to a nearby store, where he saw a flyer about Tiny being missing and called the owner to report seeing her dog. Police searched the residential unit three days after the dog was nabbed and found Tiny alone on a living room couch.

A warrant was issued for Jenkins’ arrest, and he was taken into custody in mid-August. Frost was arrested in October.