Police: Burnsville Man Assaulted 90-year-old Woman, Dog

A Burnsville man has been arrested for allegedly using physical violence against both his mother and her dog. Police say Gregory Alan Wucherpfennig, 47, was motivated by financial gain.

On the afternoon of April 11, the Burnsville Police Department was called to an address on Oakland Drive to check on the welfare of an elderly woman. Dispatch recieved a text message from another resident in the house, who said that a suspect, later identified as Wucherpfennig, was pushing his 90-year-old mother around and threatening to kill her.

Once on scene, officers spoke with the woman, who said Wucherpfennig was angry because she wouldn't sign her house over to him. She told police that he'd slapped her on the side of her head, pulled her hair and had been yelling most of the day. He also refused to take her to her doctor's appointment, and threatened to put her into a nursing home.

The woman added that Wucherpfennig had hurt her dog the day before. She said that Wucherpfennig had picked it up and hurled to the ground, injuring the dog's back leg. Officers noted that the dog appeared to be limping.

Police then spoke to the witness, who had texted in the initial report. The witness corroborated the older woman's story. She said she was in her bedroom the day before, when she heard Wucherpfennig yelling, then a loud thump and a dog yelp. The following day she saw him grab his mother by the shoulders and shake her hard, yelling in her face. The witness added that Wucherpfennig asked to leave for a few hours because he "didn't want her to be a witness." She refused to go.

When questioned, Wucherpfennig denied ever hitting his mother and accused her of making the story up. He claimed that the dog was limping because it had a growth on its leg that had been there a long time.

Wucherpfennig is charged with two counts of felony domestic abuse, one count of attempted coercion, a felony, and one count of animal cruelty, a gross misdemeanor. 

Wucherpfennig has a history of domestic abuse. He was convicted of terroristic threats in 2003, and stalking in 2007. He remains in custody at the Dakota County Jail, held on a $120,000 bond.