Former Ohio humane society agent sentenced to prison in connection to deaths of 18 dogs

The former chief humane agent for the Union County Humane Society will spend over 15 years in prison for charges concerning the deaths of 18 dogs.

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On Friday, 44-year-old Steffen Baldwin was sentenced to 15 and a half years in prison for bribery, animal cruelty and other charges in the Union County Court of Common Pleas on Friday, our news partners WBNS-10 TV reported.

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Baldwin was facing 53 counts total, several relating to animal abuse, according to court documents.

He was given a sentence of 15 and a half years in prison with 23 days of jail credit. His alleged crimes date back years, according to Investigators.

In 2020, WBNS-10 TV spoke with Angelo and Litsa Kargakos, the dog parents of Remington, also known as Remi.

The couple said they saved Remi from certain death in May of 2016 after he was deemed a dangerous dog.

Weeks prior, the couple had reached out to Baldwin, a well-known local animal advocate.

Baldwin was originally set to work with two other dogs from the rescue, but then reportedly told the couple he could work with Remi, WBNS-10 TV reported.

The couple handed over Remi and $1,000. Within months, Kargakos started to see red flags.

She asked to see Remi to check on his progress but was always denied. She started getting more suspicious by the first quarter of 2017.

Kargakos told WBNS-10 TV that she threatened to go to the county commissioners if she didn’t hear from Baldwin.

The family also put up posters offering a reward for information on Remi’s whereabouts.

That was when Baldwin contacted the couple to have a mediation session with an attorney to explain what happened.

“He fabricated a story and stated that Remi broke out of his kennel and that he attacked and killed another dog, and then he had to euthanize Remi due to the wounds,” Kargakos told WBNS-10 TV. “I didn’t believe any aspect of the story at that point, and he said that he had to euthanize Remi due to the horrific wounds that he had, and we came to find out that Remi didn’t have one mark on him when he was euthanized.”

The original police report against Baldwin was filed in June 2017, according to Campbell Police Department Det. Jim Conroy. The evidence kept building, eventually leading to dozens of charges tied to the deaths of 18 dogs.

“Every rock I turned over, there was something there,” Det. Conroy said during a 2020 interview with WBNS-10 TV. “Every hole I went into led to more holes.”

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