Hunker man receives probation for role in shooting of 2 dogs

A Hunker man convicted of involvement in covering up the shootings of two dogs and hiding their bodies was sentenced Thursday to six months of probation.

Judge Scott O. Mears ordered that supervision of Jason W. Beal, 38, can be terminated once he pays all court costs and fees.

Beal testified during his March trial that he fatally shot a neighbor’s dog — Aspen, a 4-year-old Alaskan malamute — as it lay wounded in his driveway after being shot by another neighbor. Jurors found him not guilty of animal cruelty.

But they convicted him of tampering with evidence, conspiracy and theft. Prosecutors contended he executed Aspen as revenge after it escaped from a neighbor’s yard on Dec. 2, 2021, broke into his chicken coop and killed a pet peacock.

Police said another neighbor, James Hill, 78, of Hunker shot and killed a 5-year-old German shepherd mix named Hagrid and wounded Aspen before helping Beal get rid of the dead animals.

Beal, according to police, removed the dogs’ collars and never disclosed the shooting even as their owners searched for their missing pets and asked for help via social media and news reports. He testified at trial that he threw the collars away, intending to shield his young children from seeing the dead animals, not cover up the shootings.

The dogs were discovered days later by hunters behind Calvary Baptist Church in New Stanton, state police said. It appeared the canines had been dumped there, according to court papers. The dead peacock was nearby.

Hill served six months on probation on an animal cruelty count.