FORT WORTH, Texas — The Fort Worth Police Department (FWPD) is asking for the public’s help in locating a suspect who shot and killed a dog during a robbery at a convenience store last week.
Around 1:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 2, Fort Worth officers were called to Sunny's Market at 6001 N. Main Street in response to an aggravated robbery.
FWPD shared surveillance video Thursday, that captured the moment the suspect began his attempt to get to the cash register and was confronted by the employee’s dog named Peanut. As Peanut tried to protect his owner, the suspect shot and killed him.
Graphic Warning: Below video shows disturbing images.
Video then shows the suspect pointing the gun at the employee, as he took an undisclosed amount of cash from the register and placed it in a cash bag. It also appears that the suspect took the employee’s car keys from a purse.
FWPD later identified the suspect as 18-year-old Donavin Copeland, who also may spell his first name "Donovin."
The department also released the following photo.
Copeland is a suspect in three other recent robberies as well, Fort Worth police say: one on Jan. 11 at a store at 101 Longhorn Road, another at a game room at 117 Longhorn Road and a convenience store in Saginaw.
Police searched Copeland's parents' home Thursday, Jan. 12 and recovered multiple guns and evidence linked to robberies, police added.
Copeland was previously arrested three times last year -- once on Sept. 9 in Denton County when he was charged with unlawful use of a motor vehicle, unlawful use of a weapon and tampering with physical evidence; then on Oct. 30 in Parker County when he escaped a deputy's vehicle after the officer found a gun and drugs in his car, and again on Nov. 17 in White Settlement when he was charged with attacking a woman at a motel.
“He is extremely dangerous, he is a clear and present danger to the public and law enforcement," FWPD Robbery Detective Brian Rainsford said. “Other people are in danger here. He does not have any qualms about pulling a trigger.”
Police say not to approach him, and anyone who sees him should call 911 and report his location.
“We need to get this person off the street and we need the citizens help to do that," Rainsford said.
Since the robbery at Sunny's Market, the employee has been too afraid to come back to work, according to the store manager, even after being employed there for several years.
Greg Johnson is a regular customer at Sunny's Market. He told WFAA that he and his coworkers were used to seeing the dog inside the store all the time.
"It's really scary because we come here for lunch all the time," Johnson said. "[Peanut] Just came up to me..."
FWPD is asking anyone with information on the suspect to call 817-392-4115.
"The video or the caption or still, if you see it now, should be good enough for someone to recognize him. We just need to bring this person to justice so that they don't do this again," said Fort Worth police officer Tracy Carter.