ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The Albany Police Department has arrested six people in connection with an animal cruelty investigation. All are accused of neglecting adult dogs and puppies at a Morris Street home.
On March 31, police responded to the home after receiving a complaint about dogs being in poor living conditions. During the investigation, investigators allegedly found one adult mixed breed dog and one mixed breed puppy inside a room with urine, feces and uncapped syringes.
Police then arrested the resident, Jonathan Willis, 30, of Albany, and charged him with two counts of animal cruelty and one count of failing to license his dog. He was arraigned on April 7 in Albany City Criminal Court.
Following up on the investigation, police executed a search warrant at the same address on April 20. Once inside, they allegedly found 15 dogs, nine adult mixed breed dogs and six mixed breed puppies, without necessary food or water in a room filled with feces, urine and narcotics paraphernalia. Five people inside the home were arrested:
- Robert Barton, 58, of Albany
- Alexandra Marci, 35, of Albany
- Jesse Dutcher, 27, of Albany
- Dalton Dutcher, 33, of Albany
- Christian Billings, 50, of Albany
Each person was charged with 15 counts of animal cruelty and nine counts of failing to license their dogs. All five were arraigned in Albany City Criminal Court.
