Animal Abuse: Adopted dog tied, shot 32 times, poisoned-euthanized - Doylestown, PA

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Case ID: 18351

Classification: Shooting, Poisoning, Neglect / Abandonment

Animal: dog (non pit-bull)

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Abuse was retaliation against animal's bad behavior

Animal was bound

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Attorneys/Judges

Prosecutor(s):	Lindsay Vaughn
Defense(s):	David Knight
Judge(s):	Mark Douple, Theodore Fritsch

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Case #18351 Rating: 2.7 out of 5

Adopted dog tied, shot 32 times, poisoned-euthanized
Doylestown, PA (US)

Incident Date: Sunday, Jul 24, 2011
County: Bucks

Charges: Summary, Misdemeanor
Disposition: Convicted

Defendant/Suspect: Paul Richard Bevan-Xenelis

Case Updates: 2 update(s) available

An Upper Bucks man charged with shooting his dog in the head 32 times with a pellet gun was arraigned in court on Tuesday.

Paul Bevan-Xenelis, 39, faces two misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals and a lesser charge for having an unlicensed dog.

Bail was set at $33,000; he was released after posting the required 10 percent, or $3,300 cash, according to court records.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for September 2 in Judge Mark Douple's district courtroom.

Police also say Bevan-Xenelis had given the animal hot dogs that he had poisoned by injecting them with an insecticide.

Bevan-Xenelis shot Kane in the head at least 32 times as the dog was tied to a fence, Doylestown Township police said Monday. Eight .22 caliber slugs were recovered from the dog's body, they said.

But Kane did not die immediately from his wounds. Instead, Bevan-Xenelis left the wounded dog tied to the fence at the Doylestown Country Club, where he worked.

Police responding to an anonymous call about the dog found him wounded but still alive.

"The unbelievable cruelty is what jumps out at you," Doylestown Township Police Chief Stephen White said Monday. "To shoot a dog 32 times in the head is obviously gross cruelty. And then to leave the dog laying there suffering is beyond horrible."

Bevan-Xenelis told police he had had adopted the dog from a Chester County-based rescue group about six months ago, White said.

On Monday, a spokeswoman for that rescue group confirmed that Bevan-Xenelis did adopt "Kane," a 10-year-old American bulldog, from them. She said the group was working with authorities on the case, and would prefer not to be identified publicly due to the violent nature of the offense.

She said the group and its volunteers were "devastated" and "heartbroken" over the attack on the dog.

The incident began Friday, July 22. Bevan-Xenelis told police the dog bit one of his co-workers that day.

The next night, he took Kane to the Doylestown Country Club and tied the dog to a fence near a maintenance shed, police said.

He left the dog there that night, but returned Sunday around 5 a.m. and shot the dog. He told police he shot Kane once in the head.

An anonymous tipster called police around 9 a.m. to report a dog alive but in distress tied to a fence.

When police arrived, they found the dog under the fence at the rear of a maintenance building. The dog appared to have fresh wounds to its face and head, they said.

ID tags on the dog identified the owner and gave the dog's name.

Bevan-Xenelis told police he had intended to come back later and bury the dog.

Kane was turned over to the Bucks County SPCA, where he had to be euthanized.

The dog did not carry a county dog license, which eventually led police to charge Bevan-Xenelis additionally with having an unlicensed dog.

Animal cruelty is a misdemeanor in Pennsylvania, White said. If found guilty, Bevan-Xenelis could face a maximum of a $10,000 fine and up to 5 years in jail.

SPCA director Anne Irwin said Monday that the case is a strong one.

"The DA's office and judges in Bucks County have always taken a strong stance on cruelty to animals," Irwin said. "I have confidence that this is going to be taken seriously in court."

VIDEO
Paul Bevan-Xenelis' attorney, David Knight, speaks to reporters after Bevan-Xenelis' arraignment on animal cruelty charges Tuesday afternoon in Doylestown.

Case Updates

Calling the killing "unusually cruel," a Bucks County judge on Monday sent the former golf course superintendent of the Doylestown Country Club to jail for shooting his dog 32 times with a pellet gun and then leaving the animal for dead.

Paul Bevan Xenelis, 40, of Quakertown, must serve one to 23 months in the Bucks County Prison. County Judge Theodore Fritsch also ordered him to undergo a mental health evaluation and banned him from possessing a firearm.

Xenelis pleaded guilty to animal cruelty and attempted animal cruelty. His voice shook with emotion as he stood before the judge in a Doylestown courtroom.

"It's awful," he said. "I'm sorry."

The crime came to light July 24 when a passer-by called police to report that a dog was on the golf course grounds in obvious pain. Xenelis spoke to an officer and admitted shooting the 10-year-old American bulldog, named "Kane," because the dog bit a coworker, sending the man to a hospital with wounds that required stitches.

Xenelis said he first brought the dog to the Bucks County SPCA in hopes of having the animal euthanized. The agency sent Xenelis away, saying there was a 10-day waiting period.

He told police that he then planned to poison the dog and injected insecticide into hot dogs that he was going to feed the animal. He testified Monday that he changed his mind, thinking a single shot to the head would be more humane.

The .22 caliber pellet gun Xenelis used wasn't strong enough to immediately kill Kane. Xenelis admitted that he shot the dog "about 30 times," then left to attend a church service. He was at church when police called.

Xenelis told the judge that he felt that he didn't have a choice. Kane was acting aggressively and he was scared.

"The dog seemed like he was going to come after me," he said. "I thought I could just shoot him and it would be over."

Xenelis, a married father of two, has no prior criminal record. He was fired from his job at the country club, where he had worked for 11 years, as a result of the shooting.

Xenelis' attorney, David Knight, said his client made a mistake.

"He was confronted with taking care of an aggressive dog, and he did a terrible job of it," Knight said. "Mr. Xenelis was afraid of this dog, but he did not mean to cause him pain. My client doesn't have a mean bone in his body."

More than two dozen people appeared in court to support Xenelis. On the other side of the courtroom, several animal rights activists watched the proceedings, as well as a representative from the SPCA.

Assistant District Attorney Lindsay Vaughn noted that there could be no one called to the stand to speak on Kane's behalf, so it fell to her to represent the dog in court.

"This was a very painful and cruel end for this dog," she said.

Xenelis had adopted Kane from a rescue agency and brought him to the golf course to chase geese off the greens. The dog had been at the club for about six months before the incident. After the shooting, police took Kane to the SPCA where he was put down.

"They had no choice," Vaughn said. "This was an animal in severe pain. He was in such terrible shape from being shot."

By law, Fritsch could have sentenced Xenelis to probation. But the judge said incarceration was called for, because of the pain Kane suffered.

"This animal met an unusually cruel end because of you," Fritsch told Xenelis.

Source: phillyburbs.com - Nov 15, 2011
Update posted on Nov 15, 2011 - 6:50PM

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The trial date has been moved to Monday, November 14th.

If found guilty, he can be sentenced to a 'slap on the wrist' or up to two years behind bars for his crimes.

Kane needs people to attend this trial and send a message that animal abusers are NOT to be tolerated, but rather serve the maximum time allowable by law.

Bucks County Courthouse, 55 East Court Street, Doylestown, PA 18901

Source: examiner.com - Sep 12, 2011
Update posted on Nov 11, 2011 - 10:17AM

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Adopted dog tied, shot 32 times, poisoned-euthanizedDoylestown, PA (US)

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Adopted dog tied, shot 32 times, poisoned-euthanized
Doylestown, PA (US)