Lower Burrell woman accused of stalking neighbor on same day she was ordered to trial on stalking charge

Lower Burrell police charged a woman with a felony count of stalking on the day a judge ordered her to stand trial for the same charge filed against her late last year, according to authorities.

Shannon Lee Marie Dotto, 44, of the 7200 block of Guyer Road in Lower Burrell was charged July 11 with felony and misdemeanor counts of stalking.

She was released from custody on a $1,000 unsecured bond to await a preliminary hearing before District Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec on Sept. 5.

Earlier in the day on July 11, Dotto waived her right to a preliminary hearing before Peck Yakopec on felony and misdemeanor stalking charges and a count of harassment. Formal arraignment in Westmoreland County Court is scheduled for Sept. 20.

Those charges were filed Dec. 19 by Lower Burrell police, who noted the incident involved the same neighbor, according to a criminal complaint. Police said there is “an extensive history” of documented incidents involving Dotto and her neighbor.

In February 2021, Lower Burrell police charged Dotto with misdemeanor counts of stalking and harassment. In April 2022, a judge sentenced Dotto to participate in an Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program within a year to have the charges expunged from her record, according to court records.

She also was ordered not to have any contact with her neighbor as a condition of being released with an unsecured bond, according to a criminal complaint.

Court records show that Dotto did not complete the ARD program, which is designed for first-time, nonviolent offenders.

A Lower Burrell police officer wrote in a criminal complaint that he responded to the home of Dotto’s neighbor, who told him that she was outside cutting grass earlier in the day when Dotto began making derogatory statements in earshot of her daughter.

The woman told police that after the lawnmower quit working she went back indoors. She said two or three hours passed before she went back outside and was met by Dotto, who again started harassing her.