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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; A Sweet Valley man pleaded guilty Wednesday to burning the bodies of two dogs in an attempt to conceal that he&#8217;d shot them.</p><p>Steven Saxe, 38, previously <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/local/557651/man-accused-of-pointing-gun-at-wife-killing-her-dogs-heading-to-higher-court" target="_blank">admitted to police that he shot his wife&#8217;s two dogs</a>, a hound mix named Lucky and a Shihtzu named Elmo, inside his residence and took the bodies out to a burn pit on the property where he set fire to their bodies.</p><p>Saxe&#8217;s wife, Noelle Saxe, noticed blood stains on the sidewalk and on the side of her home upon returning to the residence that day following her husband&#8217;s arrest on aggravated assault and related charges, according to the affidavit. She also noticed a pool of blood in a dirt area near the home&#8217;s entrance. She subsequently discovered the dogs&#8217; charred bodies in a fire pit, the affidavit said.</p><p>Luzerne County Judge Joseph Sklarosky Jr. accepted Saxe&#8217;s plea to two misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty and scheduled his sentencing for March 6. Saxe was allowed to remain free on $10,000 bail pending the hearing.</p><p>Wayne Harvey, a humane officer for the Luzerne County SPCA who attended the plea hearing, said a plea agreement calls for Saxe to pay a $500 fine for each count. Depending on the judge&#8217;s discretion, Saxe could face a total of four years in prison, Harvey added.</p><p>&#8220;It was heinous,&#8221; Harvey said. &#8220;He murdered two dogs.&#8221;</p><p>The veteran human officer said he hopes Saxe sees the inside of a jail cell to put others on notice that animal cruelty will result in significant penalties.</p><p>Harvey noted other recent cases have resulted in jail time, including that of Cody Anderson, who was sentenced to 11 to 23 months in jail for <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/608210/judge-sentences-hazleton-man-who-snapped-dogs-necks" target="_blank">snapping the necks of two Pit bulls</a> in May 2015, and that of Michael Craige, who received 2&#189; to six years in prison for <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/589132/wilkes-barre-man-who-threw-box-of-ferrets-into-river-sentenced" target="_blank">hurling a box of ferrets into the Susquehanna River</a> in July 2015.</p><p>Saxe, who is also facing charges he pointed a 9mm handgun at his wife and others inside their home, declined a plea deal offered by the county district attorney&#8217;s office on those charges Wednesday. His attorney on the assault charges, Larry Kansky, asked Sklarosky for a continuance so that a new deal could be worked out.</p><p>&#8220;It will be a plea deal of some sort,&#8221; Kansky said.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Saxe </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_web1_SAXE-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Saxe </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Joe Dolinsky</p><p>jdolinsky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Joe Dolinsky at 570-991-6110 or on Twitter @JoeDolinskyTL</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Sweet Valley man admits to shooting, burning wife’s dogs