Husband of Wayne village president won’t be charged in Aug. 10 shooting death of neighbor’s dog

Joe Petit with his dog, Philotimo, in his back yard in west suburban Wayne. Petit said his neighbor, Hal Phipps, had no justification for shooting Petit’s other dog, Ludwig, on Aug. 10. Authorities decided otherwise this week. | Pat Nabong/Sun-Times file

Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser cited video evidence and an independent witness who corroborated the story of Hal Phipps, who is the husband of Wayne Village President Eileen Phipps.

The husband of a west suburban village president who shot dead a neighbor’s dog last month won’t be charged in the case, Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser announced Wednesday.

Mosser, noting that the Kane County sheriff’s office had “left no stone unturned” during the investigation, said video evidence and an independent witness corroborated the story of Hal Phipps, who claimed he feared for his life when he shot the dog Aug. 10 on his property in the village of Wayne.

“It is my belief that the evidence now shows that Mr. Phipps feared for his safety and his life and was legally justified in the shooting of Ludwig,” Mosser said at a news conference.

Phipps is the husband of Wayne Village President Eileen Phipps.

The shooting happened while Ludwig and his sibling, Philotimo, both Dogo Argentino pack-hunting dogs, were outside. Their owner, Joe Petit, was inside in his basement office at the time.

A close friend of Petit’s, Kathleen Czaplewski, said that at the time of the shooting she was paddling with Ludwig and Philotimo in the Fox River, which flows past Petit’s property. But Mosser said the evidence in the case shows that the dogs were on Phipps’ property at the time of the shooting.

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