OHIO -- A Streetsboro man who allegedly allowed his two pit bulls to run loose in July on Greenwood Road in Rootstown, where they fatally mauled another dog and injured its owner, has been indicted by a Portage County grand jury on six felony and misdemeanor charges related to the attack.
John T. Dunn, 35, of 9007 S.R. 14, was indicted Aug. 12 on two counts of failure to confine a dangerous or vicious dog, both fourth-degree felonies; failure to obtain liability insurance for a dangerous or vicious dog, both first-degree misdemeanors, and failure to register a dog, both minor misdemeanors.
Dunn was booked Aug. 25 at the Portage County jail and releasted on a personal recognizance bond.
His first court appearance will be at an arraignment hearing at 11 a.m. Sept. 12 in Portage County Common Pleas Judge Laurie Pittman’s courtroom in Ravenna.
The grand jury alleged that as the owner of a breed of dog deemed dangerous or vicious by state law, Dunn failed to keep his dogs chained up, penned in or muzzled, failed to register the dogs with authorities and did not purchase an insurance policy carrying $100,000 liability coverage in the event the dogs injured or killed someone, as required by state law.
The fourth-degree felonies carry a potential sentence of up to 18 months in prison. First-degree misdemeanors are punishable by up to 180 days in jail and $1,000 in fines each, while the minor misdemeanors could net $100 in fines apiece.
Dunn’s pit bulls, a male named Brutus and a female named Sable, allegedly were running loose in the 4700 block of Greenwood Road on July 15 when they attacked Marie Hustead’s 2-year-old cocker spaniel Lucky as she walked him in her front yard. It is believed Dunn is in a relationship with someone living on that street, which is why the dogs were in the neighborhood.
Lucky was fatally mauled and had to be euthanized. Hustead, 70, suffered injuries to her hands and arms trying to save Lucky and received approximately two dozen stitches. The Portage County Dog Warden’s Office investigated the incident and filed charges.
Dunn’s prior criminal record is limited to a misdemeanor illegal fireworks charge filed in December 2010 by the Portage County Sheriff’s Office. He pleaded guilty to that charge in April and paid $337 in fines and court costs, according to court records.
(Record Publishing - August 31, 2011)
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