St. Paul man sentenced for role in stealing valuable purebred dog off porch of Maplewood home

A St. Paul man has been sent to prison for his role in stealing a valuable purebred dog off the porch of a Maplewood home and then holding it for ransom.

Christopher S. Brigham, 25, was sentenced Tuesday in Ramsey County District Court to a term of 1 ³⁄₄ years after pleading guilty to felony theft in connection with stealing a French bulldog named Pablo on May 8.

Pablo's owner, Lynnea Sterling, said Pablo has yet to be located.

Sterling, who was in court for Tuesday's sentencing, quoted Judge John Guthmann as telling Brigham, " 'If you had a conscience, you would tell us where the dog is.' "

Brigham's alleged accomplice, 34-year-old Chanessa R. Gipson, of St. Paul, was also charged with theft. She is scheduled to go on trial on Jan. 25.

Brigham will serve his time concurrently with an earlier sentence for a weapons offense from May in Hennepin County. That means he'll be locked up until May 2025, state corrections records show.

According to the charges:

Sterling told police Pablo had escaped from her backyard in the 1400 block of E. Skillman Avenue and made it to the front porch. Home surveillance showed a woman, later identified as Gipson, taking the dog.

On May 11, Sterling received a Facebook message from a man who said he wanted $500 for Pablo's safe return. Sterling said she could afford only $100. Police identified him as Brigham based on his Facebook photos.

Sterling later received a phone call from a man who didn't identify himself and told her that Brigham and Gipson "take dogs and either sell them for profit or sell them back to the owners for a reward or a finder's fee," the charges read.

A police investigator called and texted the man's number, and Brigham answered. The investigator warned him to return Pablo immediately. Brigham said he gave the dog to a woman.

Pablo's owner told the investigator that Gipson called her, said Brigham still had the dog and she wanted to talk to police. Gipson told the investigator she saw the dog in traffic and had to stop her vehicle to avoid hitting him. She claimed she knocked on doors trying to find the dog's home before deciding to keep Pablo until an owner came forward.