Boxer owner ordered to stand trial on animal cruelty charges
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Boxer owner ordered to stand trial on animal cruelty charges
By PATRICK BUCHNOWSKI
The Tribune-Democrat
A man who allegedly shot a dog, dragged it along the road with his wheelchair and dumped the carcass on Johns-town’s North Sheridan Street will answer animal cruelty charges in Cambria County Court.
Larry Stonerook, 59, of Oakhurst Homes, waived his right to a preliminary hearing Thursday.
Wearing a cowboy hat, the one-legged man wheeled himself before District Judge Michael Musulin of Johnstown for the court proceeding.
Johnstown police said they found the carcass of a 9-month-old male boxer on Aug. 3.
Police said they followed the blood trail, which led them to Oakhurst Homes public-housing project, where they found the owner.
When they asked Stonerook whether he owned a dog, he told them he no longer had one.
“I shot it last night,” he allegedly said.
Stonerook told police he shot the dog because the animal was “tearing up the house and was biting him.”
When police asked him how the animal ended up on North Sheridan Street, Stonerook reportedly said he dragged it there with his wheelchair and intended to bury it.
Police confiscated a 16-gauge pump shotgun.
Stonerook is charged with cruelty to animals, disorderly conduct and discharging a firearm.
He was freed on his own recognizance.
