WILLIAMSPORT, PA – President Judge Nancy Butts sentenced Gary Colatosti, 60, to 12 months on Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) in the January 2020 theft of two bovine cattle heifers, resulting in the stabbing death of one of the cows, with the other sustaining a neck wound.
The cows, Lyndy and Lexy, were owned by the minor children of Edwin and Danielle Kitzmiller and were part of a 4-H project. Colatosti was charged with two counts each of aggravated cruelty to an animal, cruelty to an animal, theft, receiving stolen property and one count each of criminal mischief and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence.
Family and local 4-H chapter members came to support the Kitzmiller family and take a stand against animal cruelty.
Todd Arthur, the grandfather of the minor victims, spoke about the impact the event had on the Kitzmiller family, expressing the fear and trauma experienced by the family.
Colatisti accepted into the ARD program and as conditions of his entrance, he was ordered to pay restitution to the Kitzmiller family, write a letter of apology, make a donation to the Lycoming County Dairy Committee, complete community service, and have no contact with the victims’ family. Additionally, his hunting privileges will be suspended for the duration of his time in the program.