A 20-year-old Myerstown resident was charged Thursday over a Jan. 20 incident in Heidelberg Township that attracted regional attention.
Jeffrey Horst was charged Jan. 30 with two misdemeanors, cruelty to animals and conspiracy of animal cruelty, as well as four summary charges. A preliminary hearing is set for March 6 in front of Magisterial District Judge Anthony Verna.
Horst presented himself to authorities on Jan. 24 following public outcry over video shared by the Pennsylvania Game Commission that showed Horst and another individual using their snowmobiles on Jan. 20 to harass a red fox on a snow-covered Heidelberg Township field.
Video of the incident was released Jan. 22; by Jan. 24, a reward fund organized by Bachleda Studio had reached approximately $11,500, and that same day Horst turned himself in, as did the second individual, a 17-year-old who has not been identified because he’s a minor.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, state game warden Zachary Salsgiver first responded on Jan. 20th around 1:30 p.m. for a report of an in-progress furbearer violation in a field east of state Route 501 and north of Locust Street in Heidelberg Township. The reporting party said they observed two snowmobiles in the field chasing a red fox, and that it appeared one of the snowmobiles ran over the fox.
The affidavit of probable cause states that Horst and a juvenile male reached out to the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Centralized Dispatched Operation around 12:30 p.m. on Jan. 24. Salsgiver interviewed both Horst and the juvenile that evening.
According to the affidavit, the juvenile, who was in the presence of his legal guardian, said that he and Horst had seen two red foxes in the field and they pursued the foxes for approximately three minutes. The juvenile told Salsgiver that his intention was to run over the fox, according to the affidavit.
Horst was also interviewed and, according to the affidavit, told Salsgiver the same thing: He had seen two foxes, and then took off chasing one of them, with the juvenile joining in, for approximately three minutes. Horst, according to the affidavit, told Salsgiver that his intent was to run over the fox with the snowmobile.
Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf said Horst has no prior criminal history.
Read More: WGAL: 17-year-old, 20-year-old confess to running over fox with snowmobiles
DA Hess Graf also said she reviewed the original video file on Thursday with game wardens. She said that a zoomed in and slowed down view showed the fox was alive and ran away after the incident.
The juvenile faces identical charges, but they will be handled differently due to his age.
“Juvenile prosecutions are inherently different,” said Hess Graf. The allegation will be filed with county juvenile probation and then move through the juvenile system. The allegation and court proceedings for juveniles are sealed from the public.
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