Armed man threatened to kill Cedar Rapids woman if she didn't give up dog

A man with a knife told a Cedar Rapids woman he would kill her if she didn't give him the dog she was walking, according to a police report.

Clarissa Kleppe, 23, told police she was walking a friend's dog in the 300 block of Fourth Avenue SE between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. Monday when a man approached her from behind. She said the man held a knife to her throat.

“He just said to give him the dog or he would kill her,” Sgt. Cristy Hamblin said.

Kleppe handed over the Miniature Pinscher/Jack Russell Terrier mix dog, valued at $50. She was not injured.

Police said Kleppe went back to get her bicycle and rode it home before calling police around 8:40 p.m., according to the police report. She described the suspect as a black male in a black hooded sweatshirt and said he might have been in his 20s.

No other information was available.