Sep. 13—WILKES-BARRE — A district justice Tuesday found Wilkes-Barre City Controller Darren Snyder not guilty of animal cruelty after his attorney argued the alleged beatings caught on video actually showed him disciplining his dogs during a late night walk last month.
District Judge David Barilla viewed the 50-second video during Snyder’s summary trial in Luzerne County Central Court. Snyder, 46, of Wilkes-Barre and his attorney Nicole Thompson Lermitte of Forty Fort, declined comment following the judge’s ruling.
The video, taken by witness Kaitlyn Pelchar, was the only evidence presented by the District Attorney’s Office, which also withdrew disorderly conduct and animal cruelty charges and reduced the remaining count of animal cruelty to a summary offense from a misdemeanor. Lermitte did not challenge the video.
“I think we’re trying to expedite the process here,” said Assistant District Attorney Kyle Scanlon.
The attorneys stood off to the side of Barilla’s desk while he viewed the video on Scanlon’s laptop computer. Afterward Scanlon said, “I think the video speaks for itself.”
The criminal complaint filed by Wilkes-Barre City Police described Snyder’s treatment of his two dogs on the video taken from a window by Pelchar at approximately 11 p.m. while she worked in a building on the campus of Wilkes University. The witness told police Snyder was known to her and she had seen him consistently abuse the animals, but was unable to take a video until Aug. 3.
The complaint said that night’s video showed Snyder “violently pulling on a very small dogs (sic) leash multiple times. On the final violent pull of the leash the dog is lifted completely off the ground by his neck. Snyder then kicks the dog multiple times. On the last kick he stomped on the rear of the dog where the back meets the tail and the dogs (sic) leg seemed to give out.”
The complaint said Snyder similarly treated a second and larger dog, violently pulling on the leash. But because of the size of the animal the pull did not lift it off the ground. It said, “Snyder then kicks the large dog multiple times and stomps on the top of the dogs (sic) back. Snyder then slaps the dog on the rear until the dog sat down.”
Returning to the smaller dog, the complaint said the video showed, Snyder “slap that dog so hard it can be heard on the video until it also sat down.”
Lermitte offered a different account of the video, stating “Mr. Snyder was disciplining his animals.” The night the video was taken Snyder was walking his dogs and even brought along plastic bags to pick up the animals’ excrement, she noted.
Lermitte also provided a letter dated Aug. 23 from veterinarian Dr. Richard Kaufer of Kingston, who said the animals are healthy, up to date on their shots and “well cared for by Mr. Snyder.”
Snyder confirmed he has the dogs.
Reelected City Controller as a Democrat in 2019 to second four-year term at a salary of $55,549 plus benefits, Snyder still faces another charge of animal cruelty after the same witness contacted Wilkes University Police regarding an incident that allegedly occurred the night of Aug. 1 on South Franklin Street. His second summary trial is scheduled for Sept. 29 before District Judge Rick Cronauer in Wilkes-Barre.