Seattle Times:

Wonedith Peters' voice chokes with emotion as she recalls the stranger who showed up in her yard last July and ran off with her beloved Chihuahua, Susie.

Peters, 86, was in her fenced-in backyard when Thanh Diep approached her and asked for a glass of water. She brought him some water and when he finished the glass he walked away.

But instead of leaving, Diep walked inside Peters' house.

Peters yelled at the man "to get the hell" out. After he did, Peters noticed that Susie was missing.

"It was terrible," Peters sobbed. "He asked me if I could give him a glass of water. Well, of course I did. It was a hot day."

During a span of just a few months last summer, Diep duped and forcefully stole from seven elderly women who were likely targeted because of their age. He forced his way into women's homes and stole cash, jewelry and Peters' dog in a one-man crime wave that he admitted to last month.