ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – On Monday, the owner of Hayes Corn Maze appeared in court for shooting his neighbor’s dog.
According to a Michigan State Police (MSP) report, an officer was dispatched to Bay Vet Clinic for a report of a dog that had been shot on March 1. The dog, Buddy, belonged to Garren Heller. According to the report, Heller’s dog was found lying on the porch and bleeding about half an hour after being let out to go to the bathroom.
The report states that the dog had a bullet hole near the center of its rib cage on the right side and was bleeding heavily. A Bay Vet X-ray shows a small caliber bullet and bullet fragment found inside the dog, which had to be euthanized.
Authorities found a blood trail leading to the property of Heller’s neighbor, David Hayes. Hayes admitted to shooting the dog and said, “I thought it was a BB gun.” He went on to tell officials that his dog was in heat and that Heller’s dog had been “driving her crazy.” Hayes said Buddy was heading toward his garage, where his own dog was, when he shot it from a distance of 20 to 30 yards.
Hayes told police he was trying to scare Heller’s dog and was aiming for its “rear end.” The MSP report states that Hayes gave “conflicting statements” about the gun.
Hayes turned himself in on April 19, posting his $750 bond to be released. He pled no contest to the incident.
On Monday, Hayes appeared in Delta County Circuit Court for sentencing. While he declined to say anything before the judge, Heller read a statement asking for the “maximum sentence.”
Both the County Prosecutor and Hayes’ attorney agreed to a twelve-month delay of sentence. During that year, Hayes must abide by several conditions, including serving 240 hours of community service and paying $1,068.76 in restitution. He must also not communicate with Heller or use any object as a weapon.
Afterward, Heller said the delay of sentence was not the outcome he had hoped for. However, thanked the community for its support of his family.
“My dog was my hero, my daughter’s hero,” he said. “There’s no amount of punishment that will ever bring him back, but I feel that with the community and everybody’s opinions and everybody’s thoughts on it, he’s going to be permanently sentenced for his actions by just the community. It’s a very cruel act, and he’s going to have to live with it for the rest of his life.”
Based on the crime committed and Hayes’ lack of a criminal record, Judge John Economopoulos said the “recommended sentencing range” would be zero to three months in jail.
