Florida: Court denies Benjamin Brown's request to move back in with child and mother after he lied about pit bull attack to child

FLORIDA -- A man arrested in connection with a pit bull attack on a 4-year-old has been denied his request to move back in with the child and his mother.

Benjamin Matthew Brown, 31, appeared in court Friday for a hearing on charges of child neglect resulting in great bodily harm and providing false information to law enforcement during an investigation.

He had asked the judge to rescind an order to not have contact with the 4-year-old or his mother, but Circuit Judge Brantley Clark Jr. denied the request Friday, court records stated.

Brown posted a $15,000 bond the day after his arrest. He declined to comment on the pending case.

After his arrest May 30, Brown was ordered to not have contact with the child, which inadvertently meant he could not move back into his home with his family, according to defense attorney Rusty Shepard.

Photo of Avery, before he was attacked by the dog

“The alleged victim in this matter is (Brown’s) girlfriend’s child, who was bitten by a dog while in his care,” Shepard wrote in his request to rescind the court’s order. Brown “and his girlfriend and her children live together as a family. His girlfriend and children wish to have (him) living back home with them.”

Brantley denied that request without prejudice, which means Brown could again approach the court with his request at a later date.

 

 

 

 

What led to the order was an incident days before his arrest, when 4-year-old Avery Farmer was attacked by a pit bull. After the bite, Brown allegedly told police a “stray black pit bull” had randomly attacked the child from behind on Allison Avenue in Panama City Beach.

Avery spent the weekend in the hospital to treat cuts on his face and arms. Based on Brown’s information, officials looked around Allison Avenue for the dog.

However, after the child’s release from the hospital, police said he told his father it wasn’t a stray dog that bit him. Avery said he had been “playing with puppies” when attacked, according to a BCSO press release.

That led police to question Brown a second time, when he allegedly admitted to providing the officers with false information.

He told them he lied because he was trying to protect the owner of the dog, but the damage had been done by that time. Because it took days to locate the dog, Avery started a series of rabies shots, which the officers called “unnecessary and painful.”

Note: It turns out the "friend" he was trying to protect is Katrina Bracher, who has a long history of having vicious pit bulls. Oh, and she also was charged with dealing meth out of her house. 

ARREST INFO:
Full name: Katrina Marie Bracher
Address: 3003 Allison Ave, Panama City Beach, FL 32408
Date of birth: March 2, 1995
Age at arrest: 21
Arrest Date: 05/31/2016
Arresting agency: Bay County, Florida
Charges:

• #1 DRUGS-POSSESSION – POSSESSION OF METH WITH INTENT TO SELL, MANUFACTURE, DELIVER
• #2 MARIJUANA - POSSESSION – NOT MORE THAN 20 GRAMS
• #3 IN POSSESSION OF NARCOTICS EQUIPMENT  – AND OR USE
• #4 DRUGS-POSSESS – POSSESSION OF METH WITH INTENT TO SELL, MANUFACTURE, DELIVER
• #5 DRUGS-POSSESS – CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE WITHOUT PRESCRIPTION
• #6 SMUGGLE CONTRABAND – INTRODUCE INTO DETENTION FACILITY
• #7 NARCOTIC EQUIP-POSSESS – AND OR USE

Is this why Benjamin Brown was at her house in the first place? Most people don't go to meth dealers' house to just watch TV and eat a snack. They go there to buy meth and to smoke meth. 

He took a four-year-old little boy to a meth dealer's house - who was known to have vicious pit bulls - and left him to "play with the puppies".... Why would he leave a child alone with a mother dog (regardless of the breed) with puppies? Maybe so he could go in the other room to smoke meth with Katrina Bracher??? Maybe.

  

 

“The defendant’s willful failure to provide the owner and location for the dog resulted in medical personnel being unable to determine the dog’s shot history or health record,” officers wrote, “and thus forcing the victim to receive unnecessary and painful treatments as a precautionary measure.”

Brown’s next court date is scheduled for Aug. 17.

(NWF Daily News - July 2, 2016)

Earlier:

• Florida: Four-year-old recovering from pit bull attack, authorities are looking for dog
• Florida: Police arrest little boy's mother's boyfriend Benjamin Brown after he lied about pit bull attack
• Florida: Katrina Bracher's vicious pit bull finally euthanized. Guess what, turns out she's a meth dealer, according to police. Is that why Benjamin Brown was at her house when the pit bull attacked four-year-old Avery Farmer?