In the ongoing Summit Township animal cruelty case, the Erie County District Attorney’s Office has taken a significant step by filing an appeal with the Pennsylvania Superior Court.
This decision follows a ruling by Judge Daniel Brabender to suppress evidence collected during the investigation into Gregory S. Havican’s alleged neglect of animals on his Edinboro Road property in 2022.
Leading the charge against Havican is First Assistant District Attorney Jessica Reger, who submitted the appeal in March. The appeal aims to overturn Judge Brabender’s ruling and will inevitably delay Havican’s trial, currently slated for early May. Despite facing serious charges, including 62 felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals, Havican remains free on an unsecured bond.
At the heart of the appeal is the question of whether the search warrants used to collect evidence from Havican’s property were valid. Reger argues that Judge Brabender made an error in deeming the warrants insufficient and suppressing the evidence. She asserts that Havican had given consent for the search, rendering the warrants legally sound.
The investigation into Havican’s alleged animal cruelty began when a former employee filmed the conditions on the property, prompting the involvement of the Pennsylvania State Police. Despite Havican’s initial consent to search, his lawyer, Charbel Latouf, has challenged the legality and adequacy of the search warrants.
During a lengthy preliminary hearing, Latouf raised concerns about the characterization of the property and the fate of the seized animals. Despite these arguments, Judge Brabender sided with Havican’s defense team, ruling that certain evidence did not establish probable cause for the search warrants.
As the legal battle unfolds, the outcome of the appeal will determine the fate of the suppressed evidence and the direction of Havican’s trial. This case underscores the complexities inherent in animal cruelty investigations and highlights the importance of adhering to legal procedures to ensure justice is served.