Franconia man admits to animal cruelty, under court supervision

PENNSYLVANIA -- A Franconia Township man faces court supervision and is barred from acquiring animals after he pleaded guilty to animal cruelty and weapons charges in connection with an investigation sparked by an injured goat.

Earl C. Heitz III, 53, of the 100 block of Forrest Road, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to four years’ probation after he pleaded guilty to charges of persons not to possess a firearm and animal cruelty in connection with a March incident at his home.

Judge Steven T. O’Neill, who accepted a plea agreement in the case, also ordered Heitz to “forfeit all animals seized from the Franconia property to the SPCA so they can find homes for them and not to get any more animals than he currently has” as a condition of the sentence.

Heitz also must forfeit to authorities three rifles that were seized from his Franconia property during the investigation.

An investigation began about 1:13 p.m. March 21 when Franconia police were dispatched to the 100 block of Forrest Road after getting a report from a neighbor that a goat, which appeared to have been struck by a vehicle, was wandering on the road. Authorities were directed to Heitz’s residence where they found the door open and they did not get a response from the homeowner when they announced their presence, according to court papers.

“It appeared that the goat’s jaw had been broken. There were also several dogs running up and down the driveway,” Franconia Detective George H. Moyer III alleged in the criminal complaint. “Not knowing if the homeowner was injured or incapacitated the officers conducted a well-being check of the residence. The officers found deplorable conditions within the residence.”

Police found a total of 21 animals — including dogs, cats, chinchillas, reptiles and goats — living in squalor both in the yard and inside the house, where animal feces covered the floor.

“The officers observed animal feces in every part of the home. They also observed a dead fish on the floor of the upstairs bedroom,” Moyer alleged.

Police alleged they also found three unsecured .22-caliber rifles in the home.

“These firearms were taken by police for safe keeping as the house was open upon their arrival and anyone would have access to the firearms,” Moyer alleged.

Authorities from the Montgomery County SPCA also responded to the scene, and while they were removing the animals, Heitz returned to the property and was told by officers that the house had been condemned by the Franconia Township Code Enforcement Office and had been posted as such, and that no one was permitted on the property or in the house, according to police.

But later the same afternoon, Franconia police again were dispatched to the home after receiving a report of dogs running loose on the property, according to court documents. Police said Heitz, who was inside the house and answered the door when officers arrived, was then taken into custody at that point because officers had learned that Heitz had a felony drug conviction in 1992 and as a result was not permitted to possess firearms, according to the criminal complaint.

(The Mercury - Oct 21, 2013)