A man accused of killing his cousin's girlfriend's puppy no longer faces a felony charge in the case.

South Central District Judge Tom Schneider dismissed a Class C felony terrorizing charge against Erron St. Claire, 25, on Monday at the Burleigh County Courthouse.

According to court documents, Schneider dismissed the charge for lack of probable cause after a preliminary hearing. The terrorizing charge stemmed from allegations that St. Claire threatened the puppy's owner.

St. Claire still faces charges of criminal trespass, a Class B misdemeanor, and overworking, mistreating or abandoning animals, a Class A misdemeanor. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges and is slated to make his next court appearance on June 11.

St. Claire is accused of killing the puppy of a 22-year-old Bismarck woman after she asked him to leave her mobile home in the park at 2520 E. Broadway Ave. on Feb. 28. St. Claire is the cousin of the woman's 23-year-old boyfriend.

The woman told police St. Claire threatened to kill her puppy, a brown, short-haired dog of mixed breeding. Then, St. Claire allegedly grabbed the puppy, slammed it on the counter and threw it on the ground. The woman said her boyfriend tried to grab the puppy, but St. Claire allegedly stepped on its head and killed it.

The 23-year-old man and St. Claire then got in a physical altercation, and St. Claire was forced out of the mobile home.

Police were unable to locate St. Claire, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was arrested in Mandan on March 8.

St. Claire was charged March 1 with criminal trespass, a Class C felony, and overworking, mistreating or abandoning animals, a Class A misdemeanor. The charges against St. Claire were amended on March 5 to criminal trespass, a Class B misdemeanor, overworking, mistreating or abandoning animals, a Class A misdemeanor, and terrorizing, a Class C felony.

South Central District Judge Gail Hagerty said at an earlier hearing that the charge for criminal trespass had been reduced to a misdemeanor because refusing to leave after being asked to do so falls under the misdemeanor version of the law.

St. Claire has been held in the Burleigh County Detention Center on $10,000 cash bond since his arrest on May 8. Schneider approved a bond reduction for St. Claire at the Monday hearing and reset the bond for $5,000 cash or surety. St. Claire was still in custody as of 4 p.m. Monday, according to Burleigh County Detention Center records.

(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@;bismarcktribune.com.)