Pet parrot snatched from front porch in Del Rey

DEL REY, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A Del Rey man was heartbroken after his beloved parrot was stolen from his home. He's now pleading with the thief to return him.

Alex Lujan, 29, held back tears as he spoke of his pet parrot Johnny, which has been in Lujan's life since he was 14 years old.

"I have no words to explain how I feel. It's depressing," Lujan said. "He grew up with my family, and it's just hard. It's hard to see something like this happen to me, in this neighborhood."

Lujan said he put Johnny in his cage outside his home at about 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday. Shortly after walking back inside, Lujan heard Johnny screaming, but Lujan couldn't make it back outside in time to save him.

"He would only make that type of scream and yell if he was in harm, and somebody was definitely harming him. I would never think anybody would come out of their car, run into my property, open his cage, pull him out viciously and take off with him. I mean it all happened within a span of 60 seconds," Lujan explained.

The thief could look to sell Johnny on the black market or Craigslist, and, according to Lujan, could fetch as much as $3,000.

Lujan said he considered Johnny a family member and pleaded with the thief to bring him back.

"All I want is just my bird back. I won't file any criminal charges if they can just return my bird and put him back in his cage. I'd greatly appreciate that," Lujan said.