Man Charged with Animal Cruelty
NOYES TOWNSHIP— On February 20, 2025, Robert Wallish, 54 of Hummelstown was formally charged with Aggravated Cruelty to Animals, Tampering with Evidence, and Abuse of a Corpse. The following day, he was taken into custody and appeared for arraignment at Magisterial District Court 25-3-02. These charges relate to an incident stemming from December 16, 2024, when PSP Lamar was called to 24 Clendenen Street to investigate a complaint of animal cruelty.
According to the complainant, Andrew Gavlock, 33, of Westport, he had let his 11-year-old yellow Labrador retriever out at approximately 5:30 a.m. that day, but the dog never returned. Gavlock’s search led him to a neighboring property, where he discovered blood, dog hair, and other biological material consistent with his missing dog. Subsequent investigations involved the execution of several search warrants at this location and in Dauphin County.
On December 17, 2024, the dog’s body was located approximately 150 miles from where it was killed, with a gunshot wound on its neck. The investigation continued, and evidence obtained through the search warrants was sent to the East Stroudsburg University lab for analysis. DNA tests revealed that the biological material found on Wallish’s property matched the DNA of Gavlock’s deceased dog, leading to Wallish’s charges.
