Police said Michael Donica, nicknamed “White Rabbit,” is a person of interest they want to question. Detectives said Donica has fled the state.

He is named in the charges against Johnson as being the man who broke down the Harwoods’ door, stole the puppies, struck Joseph Harwood with the vehicle and ran over Harwoods’ dog, Wendy. The male and female puppies were 7 weeks-old.

The couple said several people had visited their home to view the puppies before the theft. Police said a Secret Witness tip led to Johnson.

Johnson’s live-in girlfriend, Jessica Engelhardt, testified Wednesday that he told her what happened and that Donica wanted Johnson to go with him because he’s a “tough guy” who was in the military. She said Johnson said “how sorry he was,” Engelhardt testified.

Reno police Det. Bob Evans testified Johnson confessed to his involvement and told him Donica asked to borrow his vehicle “go steal some puppies.”
Evans said Johnson and Donica were surprised Harwood was sleeping near the pen and did not think he would follow them outside.

“He said Donica told him this would be an easy job because he knew the puppies would be close to the front door and that the owners were elderly,” Evans said. “(Johnson) thought it was going to be a sneaky burglary they were doing and didn’t realize it wasn’t until (Donica) got out the sledgehammer.”

Joseph Harwood said he heard a “loud, huge crash,” saw a man reaching into the puppy pen and yelled to his wife to call police.
Harwood said he tried to pop the hood on the getaway vehicle to pull wires but was knoced to the ground when the vehicle accelerated. He sasw Wendy in the street.
“She wasn’t moving,” he said. “She was dying.”