An April 27 preliminary hearing has been set for a Sherrard man accused of shooting and injuring a neighbor’s dog with a pellet gun. 56-year-old Michael Elsbury is charged with a Class 4 felony of aggravated cruelty to animals. The count alleges he used a Daisy Pump 880 to fire at the dog last Friday in the Fyre Lake area. During a first appearance Tuesday in Mercer County Circuit Court, Elsbury pleaded not guilty to the charge. He is free on a $5,000 recognizance bond and the court on Saturday ordered him to surrender his firearms and FOID card to the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department. As of Tuesday morning, a GoFundMe account set up for the dog’s medical bills had raised just over $1,200.
