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Posted at 1:06 p.m., Friday, May 4, 2007

Neighbor testifies he killed dog of Hana man

By LEHIA APANA
The Maui News

WAILUKU — A police officer who responded to a report of a missing dog in Hana said the dog owner's neighbor admitted to killing the animal, The Maui News reported.

Testifying on Thursday in a Wailuku District Court trial, officer Davelynn Tau'a said Sylvain Pilon told her he killed the dog. When she arrived at Pilon's Uakea Road property at about 8:15 a.m. Jan. 29, the man voluntarily offered to show her where the dog was, she said.

"He said, 'It's not going to be a pretty sight and that he wished he would've killed the dog faster,' " Tau'a said.

Pilon, 46, is charged with violating a temporary restraining order imposed last May to keep him from harassing his neighbor Kenneth Yasso, with cruelty to animals and with fourth-degree criminal property damage.

When the trial opened Wednesday, Yasso, 55, said he noticed his dog was missing at about 6:30 a.m. Jan. 29 from his residence and found the blood trail when he went to check on the animal. He said the trail of blood led to a rock wall on the west side of his property and into the entrance of the driveway of the home belonging to Pilon.

Tau'a described Pilon's demeanor that morning as "he didn't have a care in the world" and that he was "anxious to have us look at the dog."

She said that without being asked, Pilon told her he had entered Yasso's property between 7 and 8 p.m. Jan. 28 "when he thought it would be a safe time for him to go."

She said Pilon told her he intended to kill the dog in the center of the property "but didn't have enough room to swing the machete." Instead, he told her he hit the dog in the back of the property and dragged it to his property.

In cross-examination, defense attorney Shelly Miyashiro asked Tau'a whether Yasso actually had seen his neighbor on the property.

"Mr. Yasso did not tell you that he saw Mr. Pilon enter his property, right," Miyashiro said.

"No," Tau'a replied.

Miyashiro also questioned whether the weapon used in the alleged attack had been recovered.

"Did you find the machete?" Miyashiro asked.

"No, I did not," Tau'a replied.

Called as a witness for Pilon, his wife, Bonnie Kerr-Pilon, testified that between 6 and 7 p.m. Jan. 28 her husband left their residence to check on Yasso's dogs that had been barking "excessively."

"He said he was going to go check what was going on," she said.

She said the "nonstop" barking lasted between 45 minutes to an hour that evening.

Kerr-Pilon said that when her husband returned about half an hour later, he admitted to having killed the dog.

"He had to ask for forgiveness for one of the dogs because he killed it," she said during cross-examination.

"He told you he used a machete to kill the dog?" Deputy Prosecutor Marie Kosegarten asked.

"Yes," Kerr-Pilon replied.

Kerr-Pilon said that on the morning of Jan. 29, she buried the dog in two large tires wrapped in wire, and filled it with dirt and compost in order to keep the other animals from "messing with it."

Yasso's son-in-law, Jesse Nakooka, said he was sleeping overnight Jan. 28 at Yasso's home when he woke up the next day and learned that the dog was missing. Nakooka said he had followed the blood trail to Pilon's driveway, when he saw Pilon driving out of the property and down the road. That's when he said he jumped on his motorbike and followed Pilon until he stopped at the Hana dump.

"I was thinking he was going throw the dog away," Nakooka said.

He said that shortly after arriving at the dump, he noticed Pilon was holding a 6-inch buck knife in his left hand.

"He was kinda scared so he was holding his knife up," Nakooka said.

When he questioned Pilon about the missing dog, Nakooka said the man admitted to having killed the animal.

"I asked him if he killed the dog. He said he killed the dog because the dog was barking," Nakooka said.

In cross-examination, defense attorney Shelly Miyashiro questioned Nakooka on whether he actually had seen Pilon on Yasso's property or injuring the dog.

"I told him I know he had killed the dog," Nakooka said.

"You didn't see him kill the dog, though," Miyashiro said.

"No," Nakooka replied.

The nonjury trial for Pilon is scheduled to resume at 1:30 p.m. Monday before Judge Douglas Ige.

For more Maui news, visit The Maui News.