Court date set in goat-napping case

Sharon the Sigma Chi goat may be living a life of ease on an area farm, but three members of Pi Kappa Alpha will have to answer for goat-napping her from her owners in October.

Cape Girardeau County prosecutor Morley Swingle charged Joseph F. Nickerson, 20, Andrew G. Kohl, 19, and Jacob A. Aubuchon, 21, with one count each of misdemeanor stealing for their part in the abduction of Sharon.

Nickerson was also charged with trespassing. Kohl lives in Towers North on the Southeast Missouri State University campus; Nickerson and Aubuchon have rooms in the Group K dorm.

Sharon, an Alpine Nubian goat, was reported missing Oct. 22, two days after fraternity members discovered she had been spray-painted. The goat was found at the Cape La Croix Animal Hospital.

After reporting the theft, fraternity members were told they could not keep Sharon on their two-acre lot because of city rules against farm animals. Sigma Chi recruitment chairman Tony Trotter said Tuesday that the goat was given to a farm owner on Route W. "They were more than happy to take her," Trotter said.

Trotter declined to comment on the charges.

Aubuchon, Nickerson and Kohl received summonses to appear Dec. 12 before Associate Circuit Judge Gary Kamp. If convicted, they face up to a year in the county jail.