Man in pit bull case pleads to reduced charge

FREDERICKTOWN, Mo. -- A Marble Hill, Mo., man charged with animal abuse 16 months ago pleaded guilty to a reduced count of second-degree property damage and was fined $500 plus court costs.

Levi Snider entered the guilty plea late last month at the Madison County Courthouse and was handed the fine by Judge Robin Fulton. A judgment of an additional $10 was entered for Missouri's Crime Victim's Compensation Fund.

Snider originally was charged with animal abuse after Bollinger County police said he recklessly killed his neighbor's dog because of incessant barking. Snider maintained he was acting in self-defense, with the dog poised to attack.

Snider and his co-defendant Travis Reed were charged 16 months ago after Bollinger County deputies found a pit bull carcass near County Road 318. Court records say the body at one point was dragged on a road.

Deputies with the Bollinger County Sheriff's Department canvassed the area and when they happened upon Snider, court documents say, he eventually confessed to killing the dog.

Snider told a deputy the dog "charged" him and he shot it through the shoulder "like you would a deer." The dog died instantly, Snider told the deputy. The dog was near a large tree on Reed's property, roughly 60 yards from his home, according to the statement.

Both men were charged, though Reed's time in court ended last April when he pleaded to a charge of littering for having improperly disposed of the dog's remains. The case was heard in Madison County on a change of venue.

Pertinent address:

Marble Hill, MO

Fredericktown, MO