Default Mono Sans Mono Serif Sans Serif Comic Fancy Small CapsDefault X-Small Small Medium Large X-Large XX-LargeDefault Outline Dark Outline Light Outline Dark Bold Outline Light Bold Shadow Dark Shadow Light Shadow Dark Bold Shadow Light BoldDefault Black Silver Gray White Maroon Red Purple Fuchsia Green Lime Olive Yellow Navy Blue Teal Aqua OrangeDefault 100% 75% 50% 25% 0%Default Black Silver Gray White Maroon Red Purple Fuchsia Green Lime Olive Yellow Navy Blue Teal Aqua OrangeDefault 100% 75% 50% 25% 0%The suspect faces a string of charges, including cruelty to animals. (WPVI, JOSHUA HUNTER, MARPLE TOWNSHIP POLICE DEPARTMENT, CNN)

By WPVI via CNN Newsource

Published: May 15, 2025 at 2:42 AM PDT|Updated: 13 hours ago

BROOMALL, Pa. (WPVI) – A Pennsylvania man is facing charges after he allegedly tried to poison his neighbors’ dogs with chocolate and meatballs filled with rat poison because they were barking too loudly.

Joshua Hunter says it all started about two weeks ago when his family found hundreds of pieces of chocolate scattered across the yard of their home in Broomall. They quickly collected it because it would be poisonous to their dogs, Sushi and Hoagie, who love to play in the back.

“Fast-forward from that incident to two days ago, my son woke up again, took the dogs out – we’re on high alert – and there’s meatballs… about 10 or 12 of them, all over the ground with eight to nine rat poison pellets in them,” Hunter said.

Neither Sushi nor Hoagie was injured, but Hunter says one of the dogs actually had a meatball in its mouth. One of his children pulled it out before the dog ingested it.

The family’s surveillance cameras captured the suspect in the act during the overnight hours. Hunter says he couldn’t believe what he saw in the video.

“The guy took his time at four o’clock in the morning, both times with the chocolate and this time to make meatballs and put rat poison in them. He was right outside our bedroom door doing this,” he said.

Just a few hours later, police started canvassing the neighborhood and quickly arrested 63-year-old Mark Nugent, who lives less than a block from the Hunters. He was reportedly still wearing the same outfit seen in the surveillance video.

Nugent allegedly admitted to the crime, saying his motive was the dogs barking too loudly when playing outside. He faces a string of charges, including cruelty to animals, according to Marple Township Police Chief Brandon Graeff.

The suspect was released after posting 10% of $50,000 bail, and Hunter says that has him stressed out.

“I’m sitting here with ALS [amyotrophic lateral sclerosis] in a wheelchair with five kids and my girlfriend. I don’t feel safe at all. We’re losing sleep. In the meantime, this guy is out, and I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Hunter said.

Nugent’s next court hearing is scheduled for later this month.

Story by Nora Mishanec

 • 1d • 

2 min read

NEW WINDSOR — A man was shot in the face Tuesday while turkey hunting in Orange County’s Stewart State Forest, State Police said in a statement.

The man called 911 around 11 a.m. to report that he had been struck with a specialized shotgun ammunition known as birdshot, police said. Paramedics airlifted him to Westchester Medical Center in stable condition.

Ad

Enter Any Name & Wait 12 Seconds (This Is Addicting)

CheckPeople.com

Investigators identified a shooting suspect whom police said was in custody as of Tuesday afternoon. It was unclear whether the victim and the shooter were hunting together at the time of the incident.

Also unclear was whether the shooter had been charged with a crime. State Police investigators based in Middletown are leading the investigation, but declined to answer questions about the case.

The shooting prompted a brief manhunt Tuesday involving at least nine law enforcement agencies, including state forest rangers, the Department of Environmental Conservation, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, and the municipal police departments of the town of New Windsor, the village of Blooming Grove, the village of Maybrook, the town of Montgomery, the town of Woodbury and the town of Newburgh.

Stewart State Forest is one of the state’s most popular hunting destinations, according to the Department of Environmental Conservation, which manages the 6,700-acre preserve in New Windsor, about 11 miles west of Newburgh. Its game populations include white-tailed deer, pheasants, turkey, waterfowl and rabbits, the agency said. The forest is open to the public during the spring and summer months but closes for several months in the fall for big game hunting season. 

Ad

Don’t Fall For The Extended Auto Warranty ‘Myths’

GoWizard

See Offer

New York’s spring turkey hunting season opened May 1 and runs through May 31 in the state’s southern regions. Regulators shortened the season in 2015, citing declining turkey populations across the state.

On average, about 12 people are injured or killed each year in hunting-related shooting incidents, according to DEC data. About half of the shootings involve two people. The last turkey hunting-related shooting incident occurred in 2022. 

Hunting accidents fell sharply in recent decades after the DEC began requiring first-time hunters and trappers to complete safety training and pass an exam as prerequisites to obtaining hunting or trapping licenses, a DEC spokesperson said.

Turkey hunters often wear camouflaged gear and use decoys to fool the fowl, though it was unclear whether the hunters were doing so on Tuesday.