A Breezewood man is behind bars after allegedly being involved in the killing two ponies and injuring another in late December 2023.

Waylon Cole Brennan, 25, was arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Tonya M. Osman on three felony counts of conspiracy – aggravated cruelty to animals. Unable to post $300,000 bail, he was remanded to the Bedford County Correctional Facility.

The monthslong investigation began on Dec. 21, 2023, when a resident along the 2000 block of Menchtown Road in East Providence Township reported that she found two ponies dead on her property, court documents state.

State police out of Bedford responded to the scene and inspected the ponies, which were being kept in a small, circular fenced-in area off the road, according to the affidavit of probable cause.

After further examination, both ponies were discovered to have suffered gunshot wounds to their heads, with one being “obvious.” The ponies also had blood on and around their heads, police records show.

Investigators spoke with a neighbor who reported hearing a loud truck leaving the witness’s driveway about 11 p.m. or midnight on Dec. 20. The neighbor told officers that the truck had a loud exhaust and was playing loud music.

Once out of the driveway, the neighbor said the truck “backed up to an area near where the horses were at,” where it allegedly remained for about 30-45 minutes, according to the affidavit. The neighbor denied hearing any gunshots over the noise the truck was making.

Police then spoke with the witness, who had been boarding the ponies for their owner. She reported hearing the loud truck during the “late hours” of Dec. 20 and what she thought was someone walking on her porch. Thinking it was a friend, she sent him a message asking if he was there, but allegedly didn’t get a response until after she had discovered the dead ponies.

The friend allegedly said he had been there to “see if anyone was there,” which the witness thought was unusual and accused him of having a part in the killings. She received no further messages, court documents state.

The witness later told investigators that the friend had contacted her boyfriend several days before the ponies were killed to ask if their horses had been removed from the pasture.

The witness’s boyfriend asked if the friend was “going to do something stupid” to which the friend allegedly said he wasn’t, but he knew someone who wanted to, the report states.

Officers also spoke with the ponies’ owner, who said her boyfriend had recently committed suicide and that his family and friends were blaming her. The victim told police that she believes her ponies were shot in retaliation.

The victim said that Brennan began messaging her after her boyfriend’s death “to check on her and offer assistance,” court documents state. She allegedly stopped receiving messages from Brennan after the ponies were killed.

On scene, the victim saw blood coming from another horse and contacted Bracken Ridge Veterinary services. The veterinarian discovered the horse had been shot, police reported, noting the vet removed a bullet fragment from the horse’s head.

The victim contacted investigators on Dec. 22 to report a partial tire impression and open beer can she found on a dirt path near the scene.

A forensic team was called to the scene and processed the beer can and tire impression, and they were placed into evidence, according to court documents.

On Jan. 10, officers interviewed Brennan’s girlfriend, who said Brennan came to her residence about 3 a.m. on Dec. 21. When they woke up about 6 a.m., Brennan allegedly told her to tell police that he had been at her house all night, court documents state.

Investigators received a search warrant for Brennan’s cellphone on March 7. The data placed his phone on Menchtown Road “where this crime occurred in the same time frame this crime occurred,” police reported.

On March 15, officers were contacted by one of Brennan’s co-workers, who reported hearing Brennan talk about horses being shot. The co-worker said Brennan commented that a friend was not a “good shot” and that the friend had killed the horses using Brennan’s gun.

That friend has not yet been charged in the case, according to online court documents.