John Robert Duff, 68, the operator of Northern Arizona Rescues and Reptiles, recently pled guilty to three counts of animal abuse in Yavapai County Superior Court. Duff ran a self-described educational exhibit and busking operation near the mid-block intersection in Uptown, allowing visitors to pose for photos with his reptiles. The Sedona Police Department arrested him and booked him into Yavapai County jail on Nov. 17, 2023, on eight felony counts of cruelty to animals and three misdemeanor charges of animal abuse.
Police also searched his motorhome and later issued a statement describing conditions inside the vehicle as inhumane and indicative of prolonged neglect.
“Upon completion of the search warrant, 54 snakes were located, eight of which were deceased, four [geckos], one lizard, three tarantulas and two rats were removed,” the SPD incident report stated. SPD confiscated Duff’s animals and turned them over to the Phoenix Herpetological Society, which reported incidences of scale rot, respiratory issues, mite infestations and organ damage due to starvation among the animals.
“As you are aware from the attached notice of seizure personally served on you by [SPD] on Nov. 17, 2023, failure to post a bond in the amount of $25 per animal within 10 calendar days of the seizure would result in the animals deemed abandoned and becoming the property of [SPD],” SPD Chief Stephanie Foley wrote to Duff on July 29, 2024. “You failed to post a bond or request a post seizure hearing. Pursuant to the notice of seizure and [Arizona Revised Statutes] §13-4281(C), the numerous animals seized from your possession … became the property of [SPD] on Nov. 27, 2023, as a matter of law.”
In a related letter to the Phoenix Herpetological Society, Foley stated that the animals “are no longer needed as evidence in the criminal proceedings against [Duff]” and are now under ownership of Phoenix Herpetological Society members.
According to court documents, Duff pled guilty to two Class 6 designated felonies, one count of cruelty to snakes and one count of cruelty to leopard geckos, as well as a Class 1 misdemeanor for cruelty to tarantulas. The charges were filed pursuant to ARS §13-2910.
At Duff’s sentencing hearing on March 24, Superior Court Judge Michael R. Bluff placed him on probation for three years and ordered him to pay $10,465 to the Phoenix Herpetological Society and $138.26 to the Cottonwood Police Department in restitution.
CPD Animal Control Officer Autumn Durnez assisted in removing the animals from the motorhome and transported Duff’s four dogs to the Humane Society of Sedona, but CPD Sgt. Chad Sinn said that he did not know why the court had ordered $138.26 in restitution to his department.
“Duff’s release conditions states he is only allowed to have his dogs and not permitted to have reptiles,” City Communications Manager Lauren Browne wrote in a previous email about Duff’s seized dogs. “There isn’t anything specifically in the release conditions referencing busking.”
“Due to the post conviction process, our office cannot comment at this time,” Kristy Matheson- Parks, executive assistant to Yavapai County Attorney Dennis M. McGrane, wrote in an email on April 7. She wrote that she could not give a timeline when her office could comment on the case.
