The man accused of operating an illegal puppy mill operation out of a Rensselaer pole barn in violation of his probation for similar crimes in Lake County in 2017 appeared in Jasper Superior Court Wednesday to face 43 new charges.
Stevce Rajcinoski of Center Township appeared before Jasper Superior Court Judge Russell Bailey charged with 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 25 raid of his Center Township home in Lake County and another property in Rensselaer where detectives discovered one mountain dog, seven American bullies, 29 French bulldogs, three dead puppies and one decomposed canine in a retention pond, according to court documents.
Lake County Sheriff’s Detective Cory House, in the court documents, said that during the search of Rajcinoski’s Center Township home May 25, he discovered in a closet in the master bathroom multiple letters from the American Kennel Club with registration certificates for canines dating from 2020 to 2023. Those documents along with others from the Kennel Club were confiscated. At the time of the search, there were two canines at the Lake County property.
A subsequent search in Rensselaer a couple hours after the search in Center Township revealed what appeared to be more than 30 dogs in cages in a pole barn on the property. Some of the cages appeared to have food and water while others did not, according to the documents.
The three deceased puppies were wrapped in surgical paper and found under a stairwell, the documents continued.
Indiana Board certified veterinarian Dr. Jennifer Strasser was on the scene and helped evaluate the dogs. According to court records, Strasser said multiple dogs were found to have scaring from cesarean sections performed on them.
“One canine still had pieces of thread lodged in her skin,” according to the probable cause affidavit. There were no veterinary records or records of veterinarian C-sections performed on the dogs found at either location, the document continued.
According to the probable cause affidavit Rajcinoski’s spouse confirmed to House she knew about her husband’s illegal acts and told him to get rid of the dogs or she would call his probation officer. She said she had monthly conversations with him about the dogs, but nothing would come of it.
She told detectives Rajcinoski purposely sought out and bought the Rensselaer property in 2021, first the home, then the pole barn, so that he could continue the puppy mill operation. While he was rehabbing the pole barn, he was housing puppies in the incomplete barn, according to court records.
She was also in possession of one of the French bulldogs. Her dog “Frenchie” is from the first litter in 2020 when Rajcinoski started back up his puppy mill. While she said she was aware of the puppy mill operation, she denied any involvement.
Rajcinoski also had a total of 10 sheep and goats at his Center Township residence in violation of his parole, which she said she also knew violated his parole.
Rajcinoski entered a plea of not guilty and a pretrial conference has been scheduled for Sept. 18. Bond in the Jasper County case was set at $3,500. He remains held in the Lake County Jail without bond on probation violations in the 2017 case, which now also include the latest charges in Jasper County.
His appearance in Jasper County comes one day after Rajcinoski appeared in Lake County before Magistrate Mark Watson for a hearing on a petition to revoke his probation. The hearing was continued until July 18 due to the scheduled hearing in Jasper Superior Court the next day.
According to the probable cause affidavit House said an anonymous tip and another from a Tractor Supply Store employee both reporting suspicious purchases made by Rajcinoski of large quantities of animal feed, dog food and veterinary supplies including puppy vaccinations and medicine for kennel cough that lead police to investigate.
At the time of the tips, Rajcinoski already had a petition to revoke his probation filed Aug. 30 by Lake County Probation after a home visit July 27 found he had five canines in his possession in violation of the special condition of his probation that allows him to own only two. An initial petition to revoke probation was filed in August related to this violation, according to court records. Additional petitions to revoke probation now have been filed relating to the Jasper County charges.
In 2017 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 C-section surgery on some of the dogs.