Police say that back in December, the victim was in his backyard when he heard the sounds of a pellet gun being fired from the direction of the home of his neighbor, Joseph Thomas Schneider, 35.
The victim’s rottweiler, which had reportedly been sitting quietly on a covered, outdoor pool table at the time, then yelped and jumped off the table.
The victim says he saw Schneider duck down from his second-story window and close it. Schneider then got in his car and drove away,
The victim took his dog to the vet, who found that the dog had been shot in the shoulder by a pellet gun. The pellet was still embedded deep in the dog’s flesh.
Later, another pellet was found in the dog’s neck.
Schneider has denied shooting the dog or even owning a pellet gun, according to the police report.
The victim says for about the past two years, he and Schneider had been involved in a dispute about the dog barking.
The victim says the neighbor had blasted an air horn over the fence that separates the two yards, and had thrown small, loud fireworks at the dog and his house.
According to court documents, the victim was able to provide police with an expended cardboard fireworks case, and a video of the dog being shot.
On Tuesday, police served a search warrant on Schneider’s home. Inside, they found mushrooms in the toilet. According to court documents, the suspect told police they “were old hallucinogenic mushrooms which he tried to flush because he knew they were illegal and the police were on their way.”
Police say they also found a Ziploc bag containing orange pills. The suspect said they were Xanax, for which he told police he had a prescription. The police report also indicates that a blue pill in a plastic bag was found in Schneider’s pants pocket.
When police found evidence of apparent heroin use, Schneider told police that he had, in fact, smoked heroin but not for about 4-6 months, according to court documents.
Police say they also found a scale with a white, powdery substance and several glass vials. The court documents read: “The defendant stated the contents were old steroid he used to take in college (2008) but he had just not disposed of it yet.”
Police also found a large bag of firecrackers in the garage.
Schneider faces charges of inflicting physical injury on an animal, possession/use of drug paraphernalia, and dangerous drug violations.
Name: Joseph Thomas Schneider
DOB: 10/05/1980
Sex: Male
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 210
Booking date: 01/19/2016
Booked by: Maricopa County Sheriff Office
