Charges to be decided in deadly dog mauling

OHIO -- A Montgomery County Grand Jury will decide this week whether or not the owner’s of two dogs, who killed a Dayton woman this winter, should face criminal charges.

The case was scheduled to be presented to a Grand Jury on June 28 and 29. During the closed door sessions, investigators will lay out the evidence from the February attack that left 57 year old Klonda Richey dead.

In the meantime, the Montgomery County Sheriff has started a task force to look at what changes need to be made to make sure no one else suffers the same fate.

Records showed that Richey made 16 calls to 911, 12 reports to the Animals Resource Center and attempted to get a restraining order against her neighbor. A magistrate denied that request.

Sheriff Plummer said the problem is a lack of communication and too many agencies, with too little power.

“Someone should have seen something is going on here. We are really talking about communication issues, policy issues, you know how are we going to handle situations like this?” he asked.

The newly formed 9-member panel has already met 3 times and is made up of law enforcement, a state representative, local business leaders, a veterinarian, and officials from both the Animal Resource Center and the Humane Society.

The Sheriff said one idea is to get deputies the specialized training required to handle animals, so they don’t have to rely on Animal Resource or Humane Society investigators when dealing with animals.

“We can handle the problem right then, where as your animal shelter works 8 to 10 hours a day,” he said. “We’re already out there. We can be the eyes and the ears. A few counties are giving that responsibility to the sheriff and I’d like to see that happen here.”

Sheriff Plummer said they would like community input on legislation and other solutions. If you have an idea call the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office at 225-4009.

(WDTN - May 28, 2014)

Earlier:

• Woman dies after apparent dog attack in SW Ohio
• Coroner IDs woman fatally mauled by 2 dogs
• Victim of dog mauling identified, repeatedly called for help with dogs