On March 9, 2026, at approximately 9:12 P.M., officers with the Bloomington Police Department were dispatched to a report of a burglary at a residence located at on the 9000 block of Blaisdell Avenue South in Bloomington, Hennepin County, Minnesota. Officers responded and made contact with the adult female victim, [NAME REDACTED]. Cook appeared distraught upon officers’ arrival. She was crying, shaking, and visibly upset. Cook reported that someone had entered her residence while she was away and taken her dog, a three-legged half coon hound/half lab mix named Oriana.
Cook explained that she had arrived home at approximately 9:10 P.M. That evening and immediately noticed that Oriana did not greet her at the door, which was unusual. Cook searched the residence but could not locate the dog. Cook then reviewed footage from her doorbell camera, which showed that the suspect, AKHIL MIRYALA [DOB REDACTED], Defendant herein, taking Oriana from her home. Victim [NAME REDACTED] had met Defendant on the dating application and had gone on two dates with him in February 2026. After the second date Victim [NAME REDACTED] did not want further contact with him.
After being rejected, Defendant began repeatedly contacting Victim [NAME REDACTED]. Victim showed officers screenshots of repeated unanswered text messages from Defendant attempting to convince her to give him another chance. Victim also showed screenshots of multiple missed phone calls from unfamiliar numbers that she believed Defendant had created to circumvent blocks. Victim further showed officers a LinkedIn connection request, a Snapchat message requesting another chance, and even a Venmo request from Defendant.
Victim [NAME REDACTED] had blocked Defendant’s phone number following this persistent contact, but the attempts continued from other numbers and platforms. Victim then showed officers doorbell camera footage documenting Defendant appearing at her home multiple times on March 9, 2026. At approximately 1:19 P.M., Defendant was recorded ringing Victim’s doorbell before leaving. At approximately 6:37 P.M., Defendant again appeared on the camera ringing the doorbell before running eastbound away from the residence.
At approximately 7:07 P.M., video showed Defendant standing near the front steps of the home with Oriana the dog, appearing to lure the dog with food or treats before leaving with the animal. Victim [NAME REDACTED] had not given Defendant permission to come to her home and had not invited him there at any time. While officers were on scene, Victim [NAME REDACTED]. Miryala initially denied having the dog. However, after being confronted with the video evidence, Miryala admitted that the dog was with him and stated he would return to the residence with the dog.
At approximately 10:45 P.M., Defendant arrived back at Victim’s residence with the dog. Officers positioned themselves nearby while Victim [NAME REDACTED]. During that conversation, Defendant made multiple admissions about his conduct. Defendant admitted that he had looked up Victim’s home address online. He admitted that he had been coming to her residence repeatedly and had been to the home approximately four or five times previously. Defendant further admitted that he had walked around the residence on multiple occasions and had even watched Victim in her backyard while she was on a date with another individual. 2 ••-CR-••-•••• Filed in District Court State of Minnesota 3/11/2026 Defendant admitted that on the date of the incident he walked around Victim’s house to determine whether she was home and concluded she was not because her vehicle was not present.
