Late Friday morning, Genesis Sicat, 47, confronted a woman walking a brown Chihuahua and Pomeranian mix on Eucalyptus Avenue and said the dog was his pet that had been lost about a year ago, South San Francisco Sgt. Joni Lee said.
Sicat and the woman engaged in a struggle, which ended when Sicat forcibly took the dog off its leash and ran away with it, Lee said.
He was arrested the next day on suspicion of battery and robbery, and the dog was returned to its owner, Lee said.
A subsequent investigation revealed that the dog is actually Sicat's lost pet, Deputy District Attorney Al Serrato said today.
The pet had been found and ended up at an animal shelter, where the woman legally adopted it and nursed it back to health, Serrato said.
Sicat was released from custody and will not face criminal charges for robbery because his claim to the lost pet is a valid defense, Serrato said.
He will not be charged with battery because the struggle was "mutual," Serrato said.
Since the woman legally adopted the dog, Sicat will have to pursue a civil case if he still wishes to reclaim it, Serrato said.
