MALONE - A Malone woman admitted in county court on Friday that she abused a puppy over the summer, causing it multiple fractures

Shannon French, 41, pleaded guilty to a felony count of aggravated cruelty to animals.

District Attorney Derek Champagne said the beating was so severe it left the animal with two broken legs.

When French is sentenced on Feb. 19, she is expected to receive a five-year felony probation term. Mr. Champagne said the fact that French has no prior criminal history is part of why she is getting supervision rather than incarceration. Although the charge is a felony, the law sets its most severe punishment at two years in jail.

A grand jury indicted her on the charge on Nov. 14.

In other county court business before Judge Robert G. Main Jr. on Thursday, A Burke man denied to felony drug sale allegations.

Michael Lewis, 35, is charged with third-degree criminal sale and possession of a controlled substance.

Mr. Champagne said Lewis is accused of selling $100 worth of cocaine to a confidential informant, as well as possessing the drug with the intent to sell on March 26.

According to the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (NYSDOCCS), Lewis was paroled from the Willard drug treatment facility on Oct. 9, after serving four months of a two-to-six-year sentence for felony driving while intoxicated.

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