English soccer star, Daniel Sturridge, has been ordered by the courts to pay a Los Angeles man a $30 000 reward for finding and returning his dog to him.
In this article, we’ll detail all the events that led to this judgment.
The incident
On July 9th, 2019, Daniel Sturridge’s vacation home in Los Angeles, California was burglarized. Thieves allegedly gained access to the $1.5 million mansion in the West Hollywood hills just before midnight and made off with Sturridge’s personal items and luxury goods. Upon his return, however, Sturridge shocklingly discovered that his beloved dog, who he affectionately calls “Lucky Lucci,” was also nowhere to be found.
Lucci is a Pomeranian who Sturridge and his family acquired in 2018. The adorable salt-and-pepper-colored dog can be seen pictured in many of Sturridge’s social media posts. Lucci even has his own Instagram account (@luccidapoochie) which boasts nearly 35 000 followers at the time of writing. Due to his unique color pattern, dogs like Lucci are estimated to be worth between $4000 to $5000.
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Daniel Sturridge's response
Upon discovering that Lucci was missing, Sturridge immediately took to his social media accounts with a plea for help. In an emotional series of videos, Sturridge can be seen pacing through his newly ransacked home with broken glass covering the floor.
“How can you break into a house and take somebody’s dog? Are you crazy?” he asked his 3.5 million Instagram followers.
An understandably distraught Sturridge then went on to make his message clear.
“Whoever brings my dog back— 20 grand. Straight up. 20 G’s, 30 G’s, whatever” he explained. “I want my dog back, and I’ll pay whatever, it don’t matter.”
In the heat of the moment, Sturridge publically offered a reward of $20 000 to $30 000 for the safe return of his missing dog.
Warning: The following videos contain coarse language
Daniel Sturridge has offered a £20,000-£30,000 reward for the return of his dog.
— GOAL (@goal) July 9, 2019
[🎥 @DanielSturridge] pic.twitter.com/re516trWzv
Lucci is found
The following day, Sturridge received the news he was hoping for. A local south Los Angeles resident reached out to Sturridge with information regarding Lucci. Miraculously, the precious Pomeranian had been found.
Sturridge promptly arranged to meet with the man and Lucci was returned to him, safe and sound.
What do we know about the man who returned Lucci?
Foster Washington, who at the time was working as a security guard, claimed to be walking home with his nephew when they came across Lucci. Since the family was unable to purchase a dog of their own, they decided they would keep the adorable pooch and took him home.
However, friends and family of Washington soon began to draw his attention to the widespread social media coverage that was taking place about a missing dog that looked much like the one they had just found. Washington proceeded to reach out to Sturridge via Twitter. After a brief exchange, Lucci was returned to Sturridge happy, healthy, and in good spirits.
According to court documents, the Los Angeles Police Department found no connection between Washington and the reported break-in at Sturridge’s West Hollywood hills home.
The aftermath
Immediately upon having Lucci returned to him unharmed, Sturridge once again took to social media, this time thanking his fans, supporters, and all those who helped him bring an end to his worrisome ordeal.
However, Washington simultaneously took to social media and claimed that when he returned Lucci to Sturridge and asked about the reward, he was promptly told that no such reward ever existed.
Seeking the reward
Without any further communication from Sturridge, Washington went to the police. Facing financial hardship and seeking justice, Washington ultimately decided to file a lawsuit against Sturridge for the reward he believed he was owed.
Although he faced some public backlash, Washington carried on with his plan.
“I don’t see how I’m a bad guy by expecting him to honor this reward,” he said. “Thirty thousand dollars is a lot of money. For anybody, that’s a life-changing amount of money.”
The court comes to a decision
In December of 2021, just a few days shy of Christmas Day, Judge Curtis A. Kin of the Los Angeles County Superior Court issued a default judgment that ordered Sturridge to pay Washington $30 000— the full amount he had publically promised to the world via social media the day that Lucci went missing.
Although he now plays for the Perth Glory of Australia’s A-League, Sturridge signed a deal in 2014 with the Premier League’s Liverpool for over $10.5 million per year.
At the time of writing, there is no word as to whether Sturridge has gone through with paying the reward that was ordered.
