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Pete Richter, Former Sheriff's Candidate, Guns Down Neighbor Over Dog Dispute

By Cory Zurowski in Stupid Criminals, homicide
Wednesday, April 6, 2011 at 9:01 am
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​The piss fight across the lawns had fermented for the better part of 15 years. Ever since Charles "Pete" Richter moved next door to the Mark Xander family in Stevensville, Maryland, relations between the two next-door tribes had been ugly. 

State court records show the legal paper between neighbors began in 1997 when a civil complaint was lodged against the Xanders -- in which Richter was involved -- for failure to properly restrain their dog. And that opened the floodgates.

A few months later, the Xanders filed a complaint against Richter for spraying their dog with a hose. 

In 2001 -- and again in 2008 -- the Xanders charged Richter with criminal trespassing.

Richter would counter. 

In 2004, he complained to the Queen Anne's County Sheriff's Department about the Xanders dog roaming into his yard. Four years later he filed another complaint about his neighbor's hound, charging the animal was not properly restrained.  

Richter, a former Baltimore cop who had come to be regarded by law enforcement officials as a loose canon since making the bucolic Maryland locale his home, garnered countywide attention last fall when he ran for county sheriff as a write-in Constitution party candidate.

Richter would ultimately collect only four percent of the vote. However, while campaigning, he told a reporter he was running because, "Somebody needs to have the law enforced with justice."

This past Sunday voters got a practical look at Richter's version of justice. According to authorities, the Xander family canine wandered again onto Richter's adjacent property. Richter reacted to the dog's trespass by tying it up in his garage.

Xander, 55, soon came calling to retrieve the animal. What exactly played out next is not certain. But as Xander was taking the dog back to his home, Richter raised up a .22-caliber weapon and shot his neighbor once in the back. As Xander lay on the ground dying, Richter, 56, stood over his victim and proceeded to pistol-whip the fallen man.

After the shooting, Richter called 911. 

Emergency responders found Xander in his front yard. He was rushed to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. 

Richter was taken in custody. Charges are pending.  

See our last story from the Stupid Criminals file: Calvin Lebrun -- aka DJ Mister Cee -- Caught Getting Blow Job From Man in Car.

Tags: Gooberville, Maryland

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