After a deputy responded numerous times to a front yard where a neighbor’s pigs were running around, he chased pigs back where they belonged. After several incidents, a criminal case was filed against the owner of the pigs.

Randy Palmieri, 71, of Bloomington, who keeps animals in Greene County, was summoned to appear in court this week. Due to the precautions taken for the COVID-19 pandemic, the case was rescheduled.

The summons was issued as a result of an investigation by Deputy Terry Wade of the Greene County Sheriff’s Department.

Back on February 26, a woman called the sheriff’s department to report her neighbor’s pigs were running loose and were in her front yard causing damage. She said the pigs had been out a few times in the preceding days.

The complaint was turned over to Deputy Wade. He contacted Palmieri who owned the animals though he lived in Bloomington. When he made contact, Palmieri said he was on his way to the property on North Corwin Road in rural Bloomfield where the animals were kept. He allegedly told Deputy Wade that it would get the fence fixed and take care of the damage.

But the next day, on February 27, the neighbor got hold of Deputy Wade and said there were two pigs in her yard again. Deputy Wade went to the property and ran the pigs back to Palmieri’s property and into a fenced-in area. When he contacted Palmieri, Palmieri allegedly said he would go back the next day with more fencing. Palmieri was advised of the law regarding animals running at large.

That was not the end of it. Deputy Wade said the neighbor contacted him again on March 2 and said there was a white pig in her front yard. Deputy Wade reported he located the white pig and chased it back to Palmieri’s property. But he found three other pigs in the back yard of a different neighbor and so he chased those pigs back into Palmieri’s fenced-in area as well. He left a voicemail message for Palmieri to contact the sheriff’s department.

Finally, on March 4, Deputy Wade got another call from the neighbor saying there were pigs in her yard again. Deputy Wade left another message for Palmieri.

By March 6, a criminal case had been filed against Palmieri and a summons was sent to him ordering him to appear in Greene Superior Court for an initial hearing this week, on April 13.

With so many court cases being rescheduled due to the pandemic, that date was vacated.

Palmieri is now scheduled to be in court on May 28.

He is facing a preliminary charge of animals running at large, a Class B misdemeanor.