The Saxonburg borough manager lost his lifetime hunting privileges and was ordered to pay $1,200 in restitution and an additional $100 in court fines for killing a dog.

Butler County Common Pleas Judge Timothy McCune imposed the sentence on Steven T. May, 44, of Clinton Township, after he pleaded guilty to damage to real or personal property, a summary offense.

The $1,200 in restitution will be paid to Hannah Goldscheitter, owner of the Australian Shepard named Bear, which May shot with a crossbow and disposed of in the municipality’s dumpster Nov. 11, 2023. May’s attorney told the court her client mistook the dog for a coyote.

Defense attorney Nicole Nino argued the criminal charges were extensive for an accidental shooting of a dog and asked for leniency.

“My client has been apologetic from the onset,” Nino said.

Assistant district attorney Benjamin Simon countered, reminding the judge of May’s tampering with evidence charges and hiding the dog in a dumpster.

Buffalo Township police charged May on Dec. 20, 2023, with a felony count of aggravated cruelty to animals, misdemeanor counts of criminal mischief and tampering with physical evidence, and summary damage to personal property.

Attempts to contact May were unsuccessful.