Crisp Cannabis President Charged With Animal Cruelty After Dogs Left in Locked Car, Police Say

By Connecticut Canna Times Editor

Earlier this year, Crisp Cannabis President Andrew Simonow sat before Connecticut lawmakers and argued that strengthening the state’s licensed cannabis industry could help “extinguish the illegal legacy market which operates without controls.”

Simonow told the General Law Committee that licensed cannabis businesses represented a safer, regulated alternative.

“Most of us are family oriented, hardworking people, and are doing this for far greater reasons than to make a buck,” he told lawmakers during his February testimony.

Seven months later, Simonow is facing a criminal charge unrelated to cannabis.

Connecticut State Police have charged Simonow with one count of cruelty to animals after troopers say two dogs were found inside a locked, non running vehicle at the Haddam Neck Fair on September 7.

According to a State Police criminal information summary obtained by Connecticut Canna Times, troopers were dispatched to the fair’s parking lot after receiving reports of a parked and unoccupied vehicle with two dogs inside.

Police said the vehicle was locked.

The engine was not running.

Its windows were “almost fully closed.”

And according to a witness interviewed by State Police, the vehicle had been parked there for approximately two hours.

Troopers and members of the Haddam Neck Fire Department ultimately broke the front driver-side window to get inside and reach the dogs, according to the police report.

Police said Simonow arrived at the scene afterward.

He was issued a misdemeanor summons charging him under Connecticut General Statutes § 53-247(a) with cruelty to animals and was released on a $500 nonsurety bond.

The current Connecticut Judicial Branch docket lists the case as awaiting plea. Simonow has not been convicted, and the charge remains an allegation.

His next listed court appearance is October 13 in Middletown Superior Court.

State Police record confirms identity

There is no longer an identification question.

The initial Judicial Branch docket identified the defendant only as Andrew Simonow, born in 1985, leaving open the possibility — however remote — that the defendant could have been another person with the same name.

The State Police arrest record closes that gap.

It identifies the defendant as Andrew J. Simonow, born September 10, 1985, and lists an East Hampton residence matching the town and address appearing on Andrew J. Simonow Jr.’s Connecticut electrical-contractor records.

State cannabis licensing records identify Andrew J. Simonow Jr. as an active Cannabis Key Employee associated with multiple cannabis licenses tied to Crisp Cannabis operations.

Simonow himself has repeatedly identified his role publicly.

Before the General Law Committee in February, he was unambiguous:

“My name is Andrew Simonow. I’m the president of Crisp Cannabis.”

“Extinguishing the illegal legacy market”

Simonow’s appearance before lawmakers offers important context for the public role he has taken in Connecticut’s cannabis industry.

He was not simply an employee working anonymously within a licensed company.

He appeared before the legislature as the president of Crisp Cannabis and advocated for changes to state law intended to strengthen licensed operators.

Simonow told the General Law Committee that such reforms could aid in “extinguishing the illegal legacy market which operates without controls, exposing us all here in CT to harmful, untested substances.”

He described Connecticut’s licensed operators as businesses operating under manufacturing standards and using science-based data.

“We stand for operating under good manufacturing practices,” Simonow said, while arguing that the regulated industry could improve quality and access for consumers.

He later told lawmakers that illegal and legacy cannabis markets were thriving because of problems within Connecticut’s legal system.

That testimony and the September animal-cruelty charge concern entirely different subjects. There is no allegation that Simonow’s cannabis businesses or legislative advocacy have anything to do with the incident at the Haddam Neck Fair.

The testimony is relevant because it demonstrates the highly public role Simonow has taken in advocating for Connecticut’s licensed cannabis industry and the standards he has urged lawmakers to associate with the regulated market.

Police say firefighters had to break into the vehicle

The State Police account of September 7 is straightforward.

Troopers responded to reports of two dogs inside an unattended vehicle.

Police found the vehicle locked and not running.

The windows were almost completely closed.

A witness said it had been parked there for roughly two hours.

State Police and Haddam Neck firefighters then forcibly entered the vehicle by breaking its front driver-side window so they could reach the animals.

Simonow arrived on scene and was subsequently issued a misdemeanor summons.

The report does not state that either dog died, suffered a diagnosed injury or required veterinary treatment. It also does not state the temperature inside the vehicle.

Connecticut Canna Times will not speculate beyond what police documented.

But the allegation underlying the charge is now clear in a way it was not when the Judicial Branch docket first became public.

This is not merely a docket entry saying “cruelty to animals.”

Police are alleging that two dogs were left in a locked vehicle that was not running, with its windows almost entirely closed, for approximately two hours ; and that emergency personnel had to break a window to reach them.

The criminal case remains pending

Simonow faces one Class A misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals.

The online court docket shows no guilty plea, trial verdict or judicial finding against him.

An arrest is not a conviction, and the State Police narrative represents the government’s account of what occurred. Simonow will have the opportunity to contest that account through the criminal court process.

Connecticut Canna Times is seeking comment from Simonow and Crisp Cannabis.

Simonow is invited to provide his account of what happened at the Haddam Neck Fair, information concerning the condition of the dogs, or any other response to the allegations.

Any substantive response will be added prominently to this report.

The Feb. 23 testimony is independently confirmed in Simonow’s official General Assembly submission, where he identifies himself as Crisp Cannabis president and uses the “extinguishing the illegal legacy market” language quoted above.