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FAIRMOUNT TWP. — Animal cruelty charges were filed against a Sweet Valley man on Wednesday, stemming from allegations that he shot two dogs and then attempted to burn their bodies.
Steven Saxe, 37, admitted to police that he shot his wife’s two dogs, Lucky and Elmo, inside his residence and took the bodies out to the burn pit on the property and attempted to burn their bodies, according to a Humane Society police affidavit.
Saxe already faces charges filed on April 14 alleging that he had pointed a 9mm handgun at his wife and several others after an argument.
According to the affidavit, his wife, Noelle Saxe, noticed blood stains on the sidewalk and on the side of her home upon returning to the residence that day following her husband’s arrest. She also noticed a pool of blood in dirt area near the home entrance, the affidavit said. She then realized that her two dogs were missing and subsequently discovered their charred bodies in a fire pit, the affidavit said.
Noelle Saxe then contacted the Humane Society.
Humane Society police responded, digging up the remains of the two dogs — already buried by a family member — placed the bodies in bags and transported them to the SPCA.
At that time, police also noted a blood stain on the couch and a bullet hole in the kitchen wall, the affidavit said.
According to the results of a necropsy conducted by Dr. Sharon Horn, a veternarian, Lucky, a hound mix, had been shot in the right shoulder and experienced severe trauma. The other dog, a Shihtzu named Elmo, was too severely burned to be examined.
Steven Saxe now faces felony charges of aggravated assault and carrying a firearm without a license, along with misdemeanor charges of reckless endangerment and harassment. He’s currently free on $25,000 bail.
A preliminary hearing scheduled for Wednesday before Magisterial District Judge John Hasay was continued.