MONTICELLO — On February 27,  Sullivan County District Attorney Brian P. Conaty announced the arrest of Samuel Stanford, 25, of Monticello, for Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Second Degree, a Class A-II Felony and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, a Class B Felony, among other charges. Previously, in an unrelated case, Stanford was indicted on June 14, 2023, for Aggravated Animal Abuse, a Class E Felony, for intentionally causing serious physical injury to his companion animal, Zola. Stanford ultimately entered a plea of guilty to that charge on November 3, 2023, for which he was sentenced to a one-year term of interim probation and was required to attend mental health counseling, anger management counseling, registration under Dean’s Law, complete 100 hours of community service, and tender restitution for the cost of Zola’s medical treatment and training.

Despite the foregoing, Stanford was arrested earlier today, February 27, in conjunction with an investigation by the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office. The arrest followed the execution of a search warrant at his residence by members of the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office, Sullivan County District Attorney’s Office, the New York State Police, Ulster County Sheriff’s Office and Orange County Sheriff’s Office early this morning. After the execution of the warrant, Stanford was found in possession of over 30 grams of the drug MDMA with the intent to sell same. Stanford was arraigned before Village of Monticello Justice Douglas Soloman on these charges and remanded to the Sullivan County Jail pending further court proceedings. Subsequently, at the request of the Sullivan County District Attorney’s Office, Stanford was remanded to the Sullivan County Jail by the Honorable James Farrell in connection with his pending sentence relative to his Aggravated Animal Abuse conviction for which the defendant’s legal exposure is two years’ incarceration in the Sullivan County Jail. The Sullivan County Department of Probation had filed a Violation of Probation petition for this new arrest.

Conaty said: “Time and again I will remind all those that engage in dangerous and deadly acts in Sullivan County that the District Attorney’s Office will hold you to account. Stanford’s actions since his initial arrest warrant the most serious consideration of punishment under the law. His abuse of an innocent animal only to be followed by the peddling of dangerous drugs on our streets, Stanford has struck at the very heart of this administration’s efforts to make Sullivan County a safer place for all. He was offered the opportunity to prove to the court that he warranted redemption; he egregiously failed to do so. I want to thank all our partners in law enforcement that participated in this investigation and the execution of this warrant.”

The filing of an accusatory instrument is merely an allegation and the defendant remains innocent until proven guilty in a court of law by a jury of his peers.