A Center Township man is facing a year on probation, plus restitution after he was caught running another illegal puppy mill in Jasper County last year.
Stevce Rajcinoski pleaded guilty Monday to cruelty to an animal, a class A misdemeanor.
As part of the plea, he would be ordered to pay $31,000 to Lake County Animal Control. He would pay $250 per month while on probation.
Simba, a Šarplaninac, one of 39 dogs rescued from a puppy mill in Crown Point in May 2023, paces the perimeter of the outdoor area at the Lake County Sheriff’s Animal Adoption Center on Friday, September 29, 2023. (Kyle Telechan for the Post-Tribune)
Jasper Superior Judge Russell Bailey asked lawyers how Rajcinoski would be immediately eligible for a misdemeanor, rather than get a felony knocked down after finishing probation.
Defense lawyer Brian Woodward said there were “certain issues” with the case and the plea was a “compromise.”
The judge took the plea under advisement. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Oct. 30.
Tito, a French bulldog who was one of 39 dogs rescued from a Crown point puppy mill in May 2023, lays on the floor in the lobby of the Lake County Sheriff’s Animal Adoption Center on Friday, September 29, 2023. (Kyle Telechan for the Post-Tribune)
The plea was filed Monday, but not immediately available in Indiana’s court filing system. Jasper County Deputy Prosecutor Clair Beaver, who was filling in for another prosecutor, said it was just handed to her and she managed to read the plea during the court call.
The plea was “ridiculous,” Julie Rizzo said after the hearing.
A concerned citizen, she said she filed petitions and signatures in the case. She testified briefly, but lawyers petitioned successfully to remove her filing since it hadn’t followed a proper legal process.
By avoiding jail, judges were just “passing (him) along” and prosecutors were “pushing him through the system,” Rizzo said later.
Rajcinoski originally faced 41 counts of animal cruelty, all level 6 felonies, and one count each of practicing veterinary medicine without a license and failing to register as a commercial breeder, both misdemeanors.
The charges stem from a May 23, 2023 raid of his Center Township home and a pole barn on a property he owns in Rensselaer in Jasper County. Court documents state that detectives discovered one mountain dog, seven American bullies, 29 French bulldogs, three dead puppies, and one decomposed canine in a retention pond.
The raid triggered the revocation of Rajcinoski’s parole for his conviction in a similar 2017 case at his Center Township home. He was held in Lake County Jail following his arrest in Jasper County while the process to revoke his probation unfolded. Rajcinoski was released from the Lake County Jail in November after serving out his sentence, according to the Lake County Prosecutor’s Office.
In the 2017 case, Rajcinoski was charged with 11 counts of felony animal mutilation and 72 counts of animal neglect following a raid on his Center Township home where dozens of dogs were confiscated, according to court documents, which also revealed he had performed Caesarean section surgery on some of the dogs.
Rajcinoski ultimately pleaded guilty to three of the charges and the rest were dismissed. He was sentenced to one year in jail on each count to be served consecutively which amounted to 1,094 days suspended and one day of time served before being placed on parole.
Post-Tribune archives contributed.
