As a result of Mr. Taylor’s death, the Fannin County Criminal District Attorney’s Office has dropped the four felony charges of Attack by Dog pending against him, which date back almost three years ago when his pit bulls attacked a woman and a little girl in downtown Bonham.
The attacks happened in October 2008 on Main Street in Bonham when two of Taylor's pit bulls escaped a homemade pen in the back of his pickup and attacked a 44-year-old woman and then an 11-year-old girl.
The woman suffered permanent disfigurement and partial loss of use of one of her legs from injuries suffered in the attack. The girl suffered a severe laceration which required plastic surgery, but left no lasting physical injury.
The injuries to the two victims would have been much worse but for the help of two strangers.
Mary Posey of Bonham was driving down Main Street in Bonham when she saw the dogs attacking the 44-year old woman. Posey then drove her vehicle up onto the curb and threw her body in-between the dogs and the woman. Posey tried to stop the attack by kicking and screaming at the dogs.
The dogs then ran toward the Creative Arts Center in Bonham where they attacked the 11-year old girl. Amilia Hernandez of Trenton, an employee of the Creative Arts Center saw the attack. Armed only with a broom, Hernandez came to the defense of the girl.
Faced with Hernandez’s vigorous defense of the young girl, the dogs retreated and returned to Mr. Taylor’s vehicle still parked on Main Street where Mr. Taylor contained them and turned them over to the City of Bonham’s Animal Control Officers. After a hearing, the dogs were determined to be “dangerous dogs” and were euthanized.
The four cases against Mr. Taylor were charged under a 2007 law known as “Lillian’s Law,” which took effect September 1, 2001.
[NOTE: Lillian’s law provides for jail time in cases where dangerous dogs are loose and maul innocent people. The prosecutor must establish that the do owner knew or ought to have known that the dog posed a substantial and unjustifiable risk of death or serious injury to someone else. Unfortunately, Lillian’s law does absolutely nothing to help injured plaintiffs’ to recover. The law merely provides jail time and leaves plaintiffs’ to pay for their own injuries if the dog has never attacked anyone else.]
Judge Laurine Blake of the 336th District Court of Fannin County dismissed the cases against Mr. Taylor, saying Lillian's Law was vague and unconstitutional.
The state appealed the court’s ruling to the Sixth District Court of Appeals in Texarkana, Texas, and the court overturned Blake’s ruling. In April 2011, two of Mr. Taylor’s four indictments were re-indicted based on the decision from the Sixth Court of Appeals, and a warrant for Mr. Taylor’s arrest was issued. Mr. Taylor was arrested in June 2011 and his cases were set for appearance in the 336th District Court of Fannin County. After his appearance in court in July 2011, but before his trial, Mr. Taylor died.
(KXII - Sept 7, 2011)
(Herald Democrat - Sept 9, 2011)
