Dog shot, kicked
Hamburg, PA (US)Incident Date: Monday, Dec 22, 2003
County: Berks
Disposition: Acquitted
Person of Interest: Gary L Ritcher
A McKees Rocks man who said he shot his neighbor's pit bull after it attacked him in his house was acquitted by a jury after a one-day trial Monday. Gary L. Richter, 54, testified that the pit bull, which is still alive, entered his home Dec. 22, 2003, attacked his beagle and bit him on the hand. When Mr. Richter went outside a short time later to retrieve groceries from his car, he brought a gun with him and shot the dog in the neck when it threatened him again, he said. He said he returned to his house and came back outside about 10 minutes later and tried to put the dog in a bag, not realizing it was still alive. The dog tried to bite Mr. Richter, who then kicked it, according to the prosecutor, or moved it with his foot, according to the defense attorney.
The jury found Mr. Richter not guilty of cruelty to animals and disorderly conduct. Jury forewoman Sharon Allenbaugh said the prosecution failed to prove that Mr. Richter was acting maliciously, rather than in self-defense. "You shouldn't just be able to shoot a dog," Ms. Allenbaugh said. "But if it's self-defense, you're allowed to protect yourself. We just felt that the prosecution didn't prove its case. There was reasonable doubt."
The prosecutor, Eric Hoffman, said in his closing argument that Mr. Richter's own testimony provided enough evidence to find him guilty. "Shooting an animal in the neck, trying to put a bag on its head, kicking it with the intent to kill it, there's nothing more cruel you can do to an animal," Mr. Hoffman said.
A member of the Army Individual Ready Reserves, Mr. Richter wore glasses, a black sweater with epaulets, olive green military dress pants and shiny black shoes to court. He wore a sweat shirt bearing an upside-down U.S. flag to jury selection April 27.
The pitt bull's owner, Debbie Lane, said there had been trouble between Mr. Richter and other neighborhood pets before, but that her dog, Misty, now 7 years old and about 50 pounds, is friendly and prefers to stay indoors. She believes that her dog never entered his house, and that the shooting was unprovoked, she said. "[Misty] loves kids," said Ms. Lane, who moved out of the neighborhood after the shooting. "She loves babies. She's like a mother hen. If she was going to bite anybody, she would have bit somebody a long time ago."
Defense attorney Jimmy Sheets used his closing argument to convince jurors that Mr. Richter shot the dog in self-defense. "A dog was shot by Gary Richter," Mr. Sheets said. "Is that proof beyond a reasonable doubt in any of your minds of cruelty to animals? If Mr. Richter's intent was to kill his neighbor's pet, he could have put 11 bullets in the dog." References« PA State Animal Cruelty Map
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