Geneva man pleads guilty to poisoning neighbor’s dog

A Geneva man accused of poisoning a neighbor’s dog pleaded guilty Friday to felony aggravated cruelty to animals.

Vernan Pierce, 65, of the 800 block of Manchester Course, agreed to a sentence of two years’ probation and 160 days in jail. He received credit for 184 days he has been in custody on electronic home monitoring.

Pierce pleaded guilty to putting pellets of an insecticide in a chocolate candy coating. Kane County Assistant State’s Attorney Tyler Cox said people also use the substance to poison raccoons.

He said Pierce told police he put the chocolate patties in the backyard of his neighbor on Feb. 28 because he was annoyed by the barking of the neighbor’s two dogs.

The neighbor had let their dogs out into the backyard unsupervised, and when they came back in, noticed one of the dogs had a brown substance in its mouth.

The dog suffered seizures and respiratory distress. It was treated by a veterinarian and survived. The veterinarian saw blue pellets in the brown substance, according to Cox.

The insecticide comes in a blue pellet form.

Cox said Pierce initially told police he possessed the poison because he was trying to kill rats. Police found no evidence of a rat infestation in his house or in the neighborhood, according to Cox.

“What you did was absolutely abhorrent,” Kane County Judge D.J. Tegeler said as he accepted the plea agreement. “That dog probably would have come up and licked you (in friendliness).”

ssarkauskas@dailyherald.com