Smock man accused of killing horse headed to court
A Smock man waived his right to a preliminary hearing Thursday for charges alleging he shot two of his neighbor’s horses, killing one and grazing the other in July. Tony Louis Theodori, 69, of 128 Upper Peanut Road is charged with one felony of criminal mischief, two misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals and one count of tampering with evidence.
State police in Uniontown filed the charges following the July 8 shooting of the horses owned by Michael Shawn Fisher of Helen Road.
The dead horse, a black and white paint quarter horse, was valued at $15,000, police said.
The paint and three other horses wandered on to Theodori’s property at 7 a.m. and were eating corn he had planted. Police said he took a revolver from his home, fired an unknown number of rounds in the direction of the animals and saw them flee toward Fisher’s property.
After finding the horse dead on his property the next day, Theodori used heavy equipment to move the animal and bury it in a shallow grave, police said. He then burned two tires on top if the grave to hide the odor.
Veterinarian Dr. William Sheperd was treating the grazed horse on July 12 when police were dispatched to Fisher’s residence for a report of animal cruelty.
Troopers obtained permission from Theodori to search his property and found the fresh grave with the smoldering tires on top. He then admitted to shooting the horses and burying the dead one, police said.