Trial begins for Hunker man accused of shooting neighbor's dog

Two dogs who were shot to death were killed by neighbors in retaliation for a dead peacock, a Westmoreland County prosecutor said in court Monday.

Jason Beal, 37, of Hunker is accused of shooting one dog and other crimes in an attempt to cover up the incident. He is facing five misdemeanor counts including cruelty to animals, tampering with evidence, conspiracy, criminal mischief and theft in connection with the shooting of Hagrid, a 5-year-old German shepherd mix, and Aspen, a 4-year-old Alaskan malamute, on Dec. 2, 2021.

The bodies of both dogs were found days after they were reported missing by their owners. Hunters stumbled upon the animals in a wooded area, several miles away from their home and near a dead peacock, according to police.

“(Beal) felt justified because they killed his peacock,” Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Ranger said in her opening statement to the jury.

Ranger said evidence suggested at least one of the dogs was shot in cold blood.

Both dogs were found without collars or identification tags, which police say were discarded, Ranger told jurors.

She said the dogs appeared to have wandered from their backyard and made their way into a coop where Beal raised chickens and peacocks.

The prosecution claims Beal was alerted that the dogs had threatened the coop and, when he arrived home from work, found Aspen in his driveway and killed the animal. Police said Hagrid was shot and killed by a neighbor.

Neighbors Caraline McElfresh and husband Skylar Zimmerman had looked in vain for their pets for days before the animals’ bodies were found in the woods, Ranger said.

Defense attorney Marco Sylvania told jurors Beal is not guilty of any crimes and that Aspen already had been wounded when Beal shot the dog as a humane action.

“(Aspen) tried to get up but he couldn’t, and (Beal) thought he knew what he had to do: put this dog out of his suffering. He put the dog out of its misery,” Sylvania said.

Beal’s neighbor, James Hill, 78, of Hunker, pleaded guilty in August to one count of animal cruelty in connection with the case and was sentenced to six months’ probation.

Testimony in the case is slated to begin Wednesday.