Troy, NY -- Rensselaer County District Attorney Mary Pat Donnelly announced today that three Troy, NY residents have been added to the Rensselaer County Animal Abuse Registry.

Jarin Cruz, 46, pled guilty in January 2026 to a violation of Agriculture and Markets Law Section 353 and received a sentence of two years probation.  As part of her sentence, Cruz is banned for life from owning a pet.  She is guilty of neglect of a female pit bull for whom she did not provide care. The animal was found emaciated and with sores on parts of its body. 

Nigel Blakes-Sanni, 25, pled guilty in January 2026 to a violation of the Agriculture and Market Law Section 353. Blakes-Sanni was accused of neglecting the care of a female French bulldog. The dog was found confined with no food or water with multiple wounds throughout its body. Blakes-Sanni was sentenced to ten days in a sheriff’s work order program, a one-year conditional discharge with a lifetime ban of owning an animal. 

Sheldon Weir, 75, pled guilty in January 2026 to abandonment of animals, a violation of Agriculture and Market Law Section 355. Weir admitted to taking a neighbor’s cat and abandoning it near a pond off of Hoosick Road. Weir was sentenced to a one-year conditional discharge, a five-year ban on owning an animal and a $500 fine, and a $200 surcharge.

In an effort to protect pets from convicted abusers, District Attorney Mary Pat Donnelly proposed the need for an online registry of individuals convicted of animal abuse and neglect crimes to the Rensselaer County Legislature. As a result, the Rensselaer County Animal Abuse Registration Act was passed in July of 2021. 

This legislation requires all persons sixteen years of age or older who have been convicted of an animal abuse and neglect crime to register with the Rensselaer County Animal Abuse Registry within ten days of their release from incarceration or date of conviction. The registry includes names and addresses of registered offenders. This information will remain on the registry for 10 years, and if an offender is convicted of a subsequent animal abuse and neglect crime, they will remain on the registry for life. Any Animal Abuse Offender who fails to register with the Animal Abuse Registry shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by incarceration and/or a fine.

The legislation also prohibits all animal shelters, pet sellers, or other persons in Rensselaer County from selling, exchanging, or otherwise transferring ownership of any animal to any person listed as an Animal Abuse Offender.

Assistant District Attorney George Sexton prosecuted the cases for the District Attorney’s Office. 

Jarin Cruz

Nigel Blakes-Sanni

Sheldon Weir