Saxonburg borough secretary accused of shooting dog, tossing it in dumpster

Saxonburg’s borough secretary has been charged with fatally shooting his neighbor’s dog in Buffalo Township and tossing the dead animal’s carcass into a dumpster outside the municipal building where he works.

Steven Thomas May, 43, of the 200 block of Goldscheitter Road was charged Wednesday with a felony count of aggravated cruelty to animals along with counts of criminal mischief, tampering with evidence and causing damage to property.

He was released from custody on his own recognizance and ordered to appear for a preliminary hearing before District Judge Sue Haggerty on Jan. 23, according to court records.

Borough officials did not respond to questions from TribLive about whether May will face disciplinary charges as a result of his arrest.

May was hired last Dec. 20 to serve as the borough’s secretary, treasurer and the right-to-know officer, according to council minutes.

Buffalo Township police wrote in a criminal complaint that a neighbor of May’s along Goldscheitter Road told investigators Nov. 17 that May initially lied about what happened to the dog before admitting to her that he shot the animal, a red merle Australian Shepherd.

The woman told police that two of the family’s dogs ran away from the property about 7 a.m. Nov. 11, but only one of them returned about a half-hour later, the complaint said.

“Lost dog” signs were posted along Goldscheitter and Lardintown roads the following day.

The woman told police that May contacted her by telephone Nov. 14 and said her missing dog was hit by a car, and he disposed of its body in a dumpster in Saxonburg, the complaint said.

Two days later, the woman’s mother contacted May to get more details about what happened to the dog, police said.

She told them that May admitted to shooting the dog because he mistook it for a coyote and that after he realized it was a dog, he disposed of its body in a dumpster at the municipal building in Saxonburg, the complaint said.

The same day the woman reported the incident to police, Saxonburg’s police chief called Buffalo Township police to report that May came into his office and told him that he shot a family’s dog after mistaking it for a coyote, the complaint said.

May told the Saxonburg chief that he offered to pay the family for the loss of their dog and that he put the dog in a dumpster outside the municipal building where they work because he knew it was scheduled to be emptied two days later, according to the criminal complaint.

Security video from cameras mounted outside the municipal building showed May driving up to the dumpster in a white pickup shortly before 7:30 p.m. Nov. 11, place something in the trash receptacle and then drive off.

Police say May provided them with a written statement in which he admitted to killing the dog and putting it in the trash at the municipal building.