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Man Suspected Of Stealing Woman's Dog Arrested After Methuen Standoff

METHUEN (CBS) – A man who police say stole a woman's dog from her car in New Hampshire was arrested after a standoff at a Methuen home Wednesday morning.

Methuen Police arrived at a College Lane home to serve an arrest warrant to Steven O'Neil. He was wanted for a breaking and entering in Seabrook, N.H. that happened Tuesday night.

Arrest
Steven O'Neil is taken into police custody. (Image Credit: Methuen Police)

When Methuen Police arrived, they say O'Neil ran into the attic, where they thought they saw the barrel of a gun. However, O'Neil's grandmother and owner of the Methuen house, said it was not a gun, but her walker that police saw. "They had to send us out in case Stevie had a gun because they saw my walker in the attic," the suspect's grandmother said. "It was right in there. It was not a gun."

In the attic, O'Neil hid in an end table, and was arrested after about an hour.

O'Neil was also wanted on warrants for shoplifting, probation violation, drug charges, gun possession, and being a fugitive from justice.

Guns
Guns that were found inside a Methuen home following a standoff. (Image Credit: Methuen Police)

Police found a cache of guns inside the home. All of the weapons but one were air soft or BB guns.

Nashua Police previously said O'Neil stole Lily Martinez's 11-year-old Shih Tzu pug from her car, which she left running with the air conditioning on while she was in Walgreens. Martinez went to a Methuen home after receiving an anonymous tip.

Lily Martinez
Lily Martinez and Nikko (WBZ-TV)

During a press conference following O'Neil's arrest, Methuen Police Chief Joseph Solomon said residents are urged not take action into their own hands. But he did credit Martinez with tracking down her stolen dog.

"She's quite the detective," Solomon said.

When detectives attempted to arrest O'Neil on Tuesday he was not home. That led them back to the property Wednesday and prompted the standoff.

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