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Case #4793 Rating: 5.0 out of 5
Dog shot with 12 gauge shotgun
West Earl Township, PA (US)Incident Date: Saturday, Apr 2, 2005
County: Lancaster
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Levi Glick
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
A 24-year-old West Earl Township man was charged with killing a dog after it wandered onto his farm. Levi Glick, 24, is accused of shooting a border collie named Bear with a 12-gauge shotgun April 2.
Keith Mohler, an animal welfare officer for Farm Sanctuary of Pennsylvania, charged Glick with the willful and malicious killing of a dog, a first-degree misdemeanor.
"This is a depressingly constant trend," Mohler said. "People should realize that just because a strange dog wanders onto your property, that doesn't mean you can blow it away."
Glick will have to appear at a preliminary hearing before Lititz Magisterial District Judge Daniel Garrett.
Bear belonged to a family liveing next door to Glick.
Bear and his sister, Lady, were playing with Jacob in the Kovacks' back yard when Bear ran into a neighboring field, Mohler stated. The dog was near a creek when Glick opened fire from about 80 feet away. A pellet from a shotgun shell designed for dove hunting struck Bear in the side.
Jacob and David Kovack found the wounded dog as it struggled to reach their home.
When David Kovack questioned Glick, the dairy farmer admitted shooting the dog, Mohler said.
Case UpdatesA 24-year-old West Earl Township farmer was found guilty Monday of killing his neighbor's dog and was sentenced to 2 years' probation plus community service at Humane League of Lancaster County.
Levi Glick, of 202 Stone Quarry Road, defended himself against one count of cruelty to animals during the one-day trial held before Lancaster County Judge Paul K. Allison.
Glick told the judge and jury that Bear, a 1-year-old border collie mix that belonged to the neighboring Kovack family, had chased his cows around his pasture and out from beneath a shade tree on numerous occasions in the summer of 2004.
Finally, on April 2, Glick said, he shot at the dog, intending to "pepper it" with buckshot and scare it away from his farm for good.
"I'm not here to dispute that I shot the dog," Glick said. "I can't make a living if I don't have any income. My cows are my livelihood. If one of them dies, it's a $2,000 loss for me."
Lancaster County Assistant District Attorney Christine Wilson told the jury Glick's actions violated the law.
"The commonwealth does not believe Mr. Glick is an evil person, or even a bad person," Wilson said. "We understand that he is a farmer who needs to protect his livestock. But what he did that day was against the law. There were no cows for Bear to chase that day. No cows."
Keith Mohler, an officer with Farm Sanctuary of Pennsylvania, testified that under state law, the killing of a dog is allowed only if it is in the act of killing domestic fowl or livestock.
"Mr. Glick was clear his cows were not out that day," Mohler testified. "Bear was not chasing anything."
A veterinarian testifying for the prosecution told the jury a shotgun pellet found in the dog's thoracic cavity was determined to be the cause of death.
Glick asked West Earl Township police Officer Dale Ebersole how many pellets are in one round of buckshot. Ebersole guessed it would be more than 40.
Glick presented several witnesses who testified they had seen the Kovacks' dog chasing his cows on previous occasions.
Samuel King said he lives near Glick on Stone Quarry Road and has been his neighbor "all my life."
"I think he's a brave young man to invest in farming, as it is hard work and low income," King said.
In her closing argument, Wilson said Glick knew there was a possibility he could kill the dog when he shot at it with his 12-gauge shotgun.
"When you point a deadly weapon at a live animal and shoot at it, that is willful and malicious conduct," Wilson said. "There had to have been a better way to solve this problem."
In his closing statement, Glick once again told the jury he didn't kill the dog "willfully or maliciously."
"I could have put it down right there on the spot if I'd wanted to," Glick said. "It was one pellet that killed him out of 50 or 60."
In addition to probation, Glick was ordered to pay restitution of $150 and perform 50 hours of community service at Humane League of Lancaster County or another animal-welfare agency.
"While the defendant may have felt justified in shooting the Kovacks' dog, the jury confirmed that you can't take the law into your own hands," Wilson said after the trial. "The commonwealth hopes that the sentence of 50 hours of community service at the Humane League will help give him empathy for the humane treatment of animals." | Source: Lancaster Online - Oct 4, 2005
Update posted on Oct 4, 2005 - 8:08AM |
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