Goat's genitals spray-painted
Mahopac, NY (US)Incident Date: Thursday, Nov 23, 2006
County: Putnam
Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Dismissed (Conditional)
Persons of Interest:
» Drew Gagnon
» Douglas Bisio
Case Updates: 3 update(s) available
A man broke into a barn on Nov 23 morning, spray-painted three pet goats and scattered pages of pornographic magazines on the floor, apparently to harass the property owner, police said.
Drew Gagnon, 37, of Mahopac, was arrested the next day and was charged with burglary, criminal trespass and animal cruelty, said Lt. Brian Karst, of the Carmel police force, which covers Mahopac. The man who drove Gagnon to the barn, Douglas Bisio, 34, of Mahopac, was charged with criminal facilitation, police said.
"Obviously it's not an occurrence you see every day," Karst said. "I think it was a situation where this harassment got out of hand."
He would not elaborate on past instances of harassment or what the feud involved but said the suspects were known to the property owner.
Gail Fiero, owner of the property on Croton Falls Road, about 50 miles north of midtown Manhattan, said of the goats, "They're our pets. We just want to put this behind us."
Karst said he did not know specifically how the goats were harmed, but The Journal News reported on its Web site that a veterinarian said the goats became sick after eating the magazine pages. The vet, Stacey Dallas, also said the orange paint was on their genitals and described the act as torture.
Gagnon and Bisio were released pending an appearance in Carmel Town Court. The court date had not been set as of Tuesday evening, and the court had no record of lawyers for the men. Gagnon's telephone number was unlisted, and there was no record of a phone for Bisio.
Most of the charges against the men carry punishments of up to a year in jail upon conviction.
Case UpdatesCriminal charges were dropped last night against a Mahopac man whom police charged last fall with animal cruelty and burglary for breaking into a barn and spray-painting three goats.
Drew Gagnon, 37, was arrested in November after police said he broke into the barn on Croton Falls Road early Thanksgiving morning and used orange spray paint on the genitals of the three goats owned by the Fiero family. Carmel police charged him with third-degree burglary, a felony, and three misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty.
In court last night, the goats' owner, Bryce Fiero, told Town Justice Joseph Spofford that he would withdraw the charges in exchange for Gagnon and his alleged accomplice, Douglas Bisio, 34, of Mahopac, making a donation to the Putnam Humane Society.
Bisio was charged with misdemeanor criminal facilitation for allegedly driving Gagnon to the barn.
Through their attorney, Christopher X. Maher, Gagnon and Bisio agreed to donate a total of $2,000 to the humane society and to stay off Fiero family property.
"My family and I just want to put this ordeal behind us and we believe that a donation to the Humane Society would be helpful," Fiero said outside court. "You try to forgive and forget. We may not forget this, but we will try to forgive."
Last night marked Gagnon's fourth appearance in Carmel Justice Court since his arrest the day after Thanksgiving.
Gagnon also left pornographic magazines inside the barn during his 2 a.m. visit. Two of the goats became sick after eating the magazines.
A third goat had a swollen leg that was apparently hurt when it was held down while its genitals were being painted. The goats were a male and two females.
At the time, police said it appeared to be part of an ongoing pattern of harassment by Gagnon against the Fiero family.
As part of the agreement, Assistant District Attorney Robert Noah reduced the felony burglary charge against Gagnon to misdemeanor count of criminal trespass. That allowed Spofford to dismiss all the charges because only a County Court judge has the authority to dismiss a felony. | Source: The Journal News - March 27, 2007
Update posted on Mar 27, 2007 - 6:29AM |
A Mahopac man charged with animal cruelty in the alleged spray painting of three goats is due in Town Court tonight.
Drew Gagnon, 37, was arrested soon after the Nov. 23 incident in which three goats kept as pets by the Fiero family were held down in their barn and their genitals painted orange. He also left pornographic magazines strewn about the barn and the goats were sickened by eating them, police said.
He is charged with burglary, a felony, and three misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty.
An accomplice, Douglas Bisio, is charged with misdemeanor criminal facilitation for allegedly driving Gagnon to the barn. | Source: The Journal News - March 26, 2007
Update posted on Mar 27, 2007 - 5:35AM |
A Mahopac man accused of spray painting his neighbor's three pet goats has been told by a town judge to stay away from the barn where the incident happened on Thanksgiving morning.
Thirty-seven-year-old Drew Gagnon brought some 15 relatives and friends to Carmel Justice Court last night for support. Gagnon is charged with burglary, animal cruelty and criminal trespass. He did not enter a plea.
Gagnon is accused of breaking into the barn of his longtime neighbors, the Fieros, and with bright orange paint spraying the genitals of their three goats. He also was accused of leaving pornographic magazines, which the animals ate, making them sick.
Gagnon is due back in court January 29th along with his 34-year-old friend Douglas Bisio, who is charged with misdemeanor criminal facilitation.
Carmel Town Justice Joseph Spofford Junior warned both men to have no contact with the Fiero family and to not come within 100 feet of the property. Gail Fiero said last night that the goats were "doing well." One of Gagnon's friends says it was a stupid prank gone bad. | Source: News Channel 9 - Dec 5 2006
Update posted on Dec 8, 2006 - 12:32PM |
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