SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The Schenectady County District Attorney’s Office (SCDA) announced on Tuesday that 27-year-old Juwan Grier pleaded guilty on October 15 to aggravated cruelty to animals, a class E felony. The Schenectady man is expected to receive a sentence of six months in county jail followed by five years of probation.
Grier confessed to purposefully pushing “Oreo,” his four-month-old German Shorthaired Pointer, down a fire escape at his second-floor Schenectady apartment on June 25. The dog required treatment at the VCA Shaker Animal Hospital in Latham for a broken jaw, a broken tibia and fibula in the right hind leg, and rib fractures.
Animal hospital staff contacted law enforcement due to the extent of the animal’s injuries, leading to Grier’s arrest. Oreo was transferred to the care of the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society in July, and after recovering from his injuries, has since been adopted, according to the SCDA.
“I am grateful for the work of my Special Victims Unit led by Bureau Chief John Carson in the protection of all of our vulnerable victims, including the animals who enrich the lives of we humans,” Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney stated. “We know that too often, people who would torture and abuse animals are likely to do the same to people, and we should do what we can to deter both behaviors.”
Aggravated cruelty to animals falls under agriculture and markets law, as opposed to penal law, and doesn’t constitute a state prison sentence. The maximum sentence for the charge is up to two years in county jail.
In addition to jail time, Grier will be legally prohibited from owning any pets for a 50 year period. He’s scheduled to be sentenced before visiting Judge Michael Smrtic in Schenectady County Court on December 16.
