May 15, 2025
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
Marple Township resident Mark Nugent, 63, faces animal cruelty charges after surveillance video allegedly captured him tossing meat stuffed with rat poison into a neighbor's yard where two dogs live, police say.
A Delaware County man allegedly packed wads of raw meat with rat poison and threw them into his neighbor's yard on Tuesday morning in an apparent attempt to sicken the homeowner's dogs, authorities said.
Mark E. Nugent, 63, was charged Tuesday after investigators reviewed surveillance video that allegedly shows him tossing meat over a fence and into the yard of a property in the Broomall section of Marple Township.
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When Marple Township police arrived at the home, they found about 10 balls of meat stuffed with green mouse or rat poison pellets, the Delaware County Daily Times reported Wednesday. In videos provided to investigators by the homeowners, Nugent allegedly is seen throwing the meat into the yard around 4:45 a.m.
The homeowners told police they also had found hundreds of pieces of chocolate scattered on their property last week. Both chocolate and the rodent poisons are highly toxic to dogs and can cause a range of symptoms that could be deadly if not treated quickly. The dog owners in Marple did not report any injuries to their two pets.
Doorbell camera video obtained by 6ABC shows a man chucking objects into the family's yard during the overnight hours. The owner of the dogs told the station one of the pets had the meat in its mouth, but the owner's child noticed and was able to take it away before the dog swallowed it.
The resident says one of his dogs actually had one of the poisonous meatballs in its mouth, but one of his children was able to pull it out before the dog ingested it. https://t.co/KDKK9tQXBB
— Action News on 6abc (@6abc) May 14, 2025
Investigators said Nugent had made several 911 calls in the past to complain about dogs barking.
A Marple police officer who knocked on Nugent's door Tuesday said the man answered dressed in the same clothing as the person shown in the video throwing the meat over the fence.
Nugent is charged with aggravated cruelty to animals, loitering and prowling at night, criminal trespass, disorderly conduct and harassment, court records show. He was released from jail after posting bail set at 10% of $50,000. Nugent has a preliminary hearing scheduled for May 29.
