SAXONBURG — All charges against borough manager Steven May connected to his involvement with the death of a dog last year were held for court Tuesday, March 5, following testimony from eight witnesses from the prosecution and defense.

May, 43, of Clinton Township, was accused of shooting a dog with a crossbow on Nov. 11 and disposing of it in the municipality's dumpster.

Buffalo Township police charged May on Dec. 20 with a felony count of aggravated cruelty to animals, misdemeanor counts of criminal mischief and tampering with physical evidence, and summary damage to personal property.

May appeared in court for the hearing before District Judge Jack Ripper. During nearly two and a half hours of testimony, defense attorney Nicole Nino brought forth rebuttal witnesses for the prosecution to cross examine.

The dog’s owner, Hannah Goldscheitter, said the Australian Shepherd dog that was killed was named Bear and had run off with another dog to chase deer around 7 a.m. Nov. 11.

“Usually if one comes back, they all come back,” she said of the dogs.

Bear was not licensed or chipped, whereas the other dog that ran off was chipped, she said.

During cross examination, Hannah Goldscheitter said she searched all day for the dog and made a Facebook post and flyers with her phone number in efforts to find him. On Nov. 14, she received a call from a neighbor identifying himself as “Steve” who, she said, told her the dog had been hit by a car and was mistaken for a coyote. “Steve” was later identified as May.

Seven minutes after Hannah Goldscheitter received that call, her father William called back and asked about the dog’s death. William Goldscheitter later testified that May told him the same information.

“He said he felt bad,” William Goldscheitter said.

Geraldine Goldscheitter, Hannah’s mother, testified she contacted May again.

“I told him the story wasn’t sitting right with me, what he told my husband and my daughter, and he said he shot (the dog),” she said.

Testimony from Jacob Babilon, a state game warden, said Geraldine Goldscheitter reported the dog’s death on Nov. 17, which led him to contact May.

According to Babilon, May disclosed that on Nov. 11, he saw a coyote chasing a doe on his property. He later took his crossbow and went out deer hunting.

“He told me he had initiated his hunt because he’d seen coyotes out earlier that day,” Babilon said.

He said May disclosed that while he was in the woods he saw a doe, again followed by the coyote, and “took a shot.”

May then realized he had shot a dog, according to Babilon.

“He did express the dog was dirty ... He only noticed it was a dog after taking his shot,” Babilon said.

May also told Babilon he disposed of the dog’s body in the borough dumpster that night, knowing it would be emptied a few days later.

Babilon testified May had self-reported shooting the animal to the game commission.

Saxonburg police Chief Joseph Beachem said May disclosed to him on Nov. 17 what he had done with the dog’s remains.

“He told me he shot a dog and thought it was coyote,” he said. “Mr. May indicated he put the dog in the dumpster near the borough building.”

Beachem said that in surveillance footage, a white truck, which he identified as May’s, is seen pulling up to the dumpster and driving off a short time later.

Jeffrey Swiklinski, an officer with Buffalo Township police, said he was assigned to investigate May. He testified that May did not call his department about the dog’s death.

During cross examination, Nino asked Swiklinski if he had heard or seen coyotes in the area during his time as a resident.

“In 20 to 24 years of living in Sarver, I have never heard or saw a coyote in Sarver,” he said.

Nino then called Deborah Pascarella as a witness to the defense, who refuted this claim.

Pascarella said she has heard coyotes from her residence, which is on the same road as the May and Goldscheitter homes.

“My husband and I have heard them devouring animals in our area in broad daylight,” she said.

She also reported not seeing flyers for the dog when it was still missing.

Stephanie May, Steven’s wife, also said there had been “multiple episodes” involving coyotes near her home, but she didn’t recall hearing them the day her husband went hunting.

She said her husband returned home around 8:30 a.m. that day and told her what had occurred.

“He came in the house very distraught, he actually had a hard time telling me what happened,” she said. “We know our neighbors’ dogs ... He said he had never seen this dog.”

May told his wife he had wrapped the dog in a tarp and took it into a field on their property, so that if someone came looking for it, he could easily bring them to it.

She added that her husband was worried about leaving the dog outside overnight for fear it would attract coyotes.

When Nino asked Stephanie May if the dog’s death came about by accident, she answered affirmatively.

“Yes, for God’s sake, we have a dog of our own, chickens. We’d never seen this dog,” she said.

During argument, Nino appealed to the court to recognize the dog’s death as an accident.

“No one is going to dispute this is tragic,” she said.

She contended the charges filed by the commonwealth were not substantially defended during testimony, as they failed to prove May knowingly killed a domestic animal.

“I submit to the court that a dog that’s running, muddy and wet could look like a coyote. This is a mistaken identity,” she said. “They have failed to establish that this was intentional.”

Had May buried the dog on his property instead of disposing of it in the dumpster, Nino contends he would have violated other statutes.

“He was actually following the law,” she said. “We are faulting this man for taking responsibility for his actions.”

Nino added May initially told the dog’s owner that her dog had been run over because he was afraid of hurting her, and later self-reported to the game commission.

David Beichner, assistant district attorney, asked the court to consider the facts of the case as presented.

“The evidence established the defendant shot Bear,” he said. “Here’s what I submit: He did not take responsibility for his actions, not at the outset.”

Ripper said the commonwealth had met its burden of proof, and the judge held all charges over for the Butler County Common Pleas Court.