'In over my head:' Ex-Sussex County petting zoo owner sentenced in animal cruelty case

A besmirched former Sussex County petting zoo owner was sentenced on Thursday to one-year probation for failing to care for hundreds of piglets, many who later died, closing out an animal cruelty case that drew response from local and state authorities.

Dennis Sugar, 49, who moved to South Carolina after his 2019 arrest and opened a traveling petting zoo, pleaded guilty in an unexpected hearing in August to two disorderly persons offenses, both stemming from his neglect of malnourished and parasite-infected swine on property he leased in Hampton Township, and later, on a 12-acre Lafayette farm, where he operated Sugar Sweet Farms Petting Zoo.

Initial third- and fourth-degree charges against the former Branchville resident were dismissed as part of the plea, and with it the possibility of jail time, in what was an "obviously very heavily negotiated plea," New Jersey Superior Court Judge Michael Gaus said Thursday. Don Cox, an assistant prosecutor and special deputy attorney general in Sussex County, remarked that the extensive negotiations in the case were "well above my pay grade."

While unclear why prosecutors agreed to throw away the indictment — a grand jury formally charged Sugar in February 2020 with four counts of animal cruelty, while his disorderly persons offenses were not subject to indictment — Sugar's attorney, George Daggett, sought to dismiss the indictment, and later vowed to go to trial.

Sugar admitted in August that piglets he had transported from a breeder in New York to his Hampton farm had coccidiosis, a parasitic disease that causes diarrhea in suckling and recently weaned pigs. He admitted he failed to care for the malnourished piglets by not providing them medical care. Some of the piglets, he agreed, only had access to contaminated water.

"I brought sick piglets in and I was in over my head," he said in a state Superior courtroom in Sussex County on Thursday. "I apologize to the court."

Daggett mitigated Sugar's actions by stating that his client was struggling financially, and had he the funds, "maybe he could have saved them." Daggett said when faced with a shipment of underweight piglets, which Sugar had previously called "runts," he thought he could bring them back to health, but "couldn't keep up."

Investigators with the Sussex County Prosecutor's Office and officers with the state Department of Agriculture were first tipped off to Sugar's alleged transgressions in August 2019 by a caller. When authorities searched his property, they found several other animals either dead or dying, including pigs with mange and goats with mange and fractured legs that Sugar attempted to splint himself, according to court records. Workers told police they were told by Sugar to dispose of dead animals in the rear of the Route 94 property he leased in Lafayette. Investigators noted they found an "unknown number" of skulls and animal remains during their search, records show.

While Sugar only admitted in court he failed to care for the piglets — Sugar eluded in August that the pigs would have died regardless by stating "all runt pigs don't make it" — Gaus said prosecutors laid out in reports to the court his other alleged transgressions which Sugar did not contest.

"There is a need to deter this individual as well as members of the public when it comes to the improper treatment of defenseless animals," Gaus stated. "There is no question these animals suffered greatly. When you take on the responsibility of animals like this, you have to be prepared for how you are going to address these kinds of circumstances."

Sugar will serve 10 days of community service, pay just over $1,000 in fines and provide $3,000 in restitution to Tamberline Sanctuary, a farm in Montague that was involved in the rescue and care of his animals. Under New Jersey's Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, individuals who are convicted of violating animal cruelty laws are required to serve up to 30 days of community service.

Sugar, who opened his petting zoo in 2013 and charged visitors an entrance fee, closed it down five days before his arrest on Aug. 12, 2019, later moving it to a 22-acre tract of land he leased on Route 206 in Andover. His time at the Andover property was short-lived after he was again investigated in March 2020 for purportedly animal cruelty after a volunteer with a Wantage sanctuary, helping care for his animals, called police after stating she found animals in distress. Police at the time told the New Jersey Herald they did not charge Sugar, but told Sugar to get proper care for his animals and continued to monitor him on a weekly basis.

In March 2020, an officer with the DEP's Fish and Wildlife Division issued 10 summonses against Sugar after discovering vulture carcasses on his Lafayette property. Vultures are federally protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Daggett, who also represents Sugar on the municipal charges, said his client shot "three or four" vultures that were trying to kill the piglets. He was issued summonses for killing/hunting a protected wild bird, possession of a loaded weapon within 450 feet of a building, hunting/fishing/trapping without a license and will appear back in court in December.

Lori Comstock can also be reached on Twitter: @LoriComstockNJH, on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/LoriComstockNJH or by phone: 973-383-1194.

Lori Comstock can be reached on Twitter: @LoriComstockNJH, on Facebook:www.Facebook.com/LoriComstockNJH or by phone: 973-383-1194.

This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: Sugar Sweet farms NJ zoo owner sentenced for animal cruelty