Michigan: Appeals court rules 3-0 and tosses charges against owners Debra Olney and husband Daniel Ridge whose pit bull mix got loose and seriously mauled a lawncare worker on a neighbor's property

MICHIGAN -- The Michigan appeals court has thrown out charges against an Eaton County couple whose dog got under a fence and repeatedly bit a lawn care worker.

Debra Olney and husband Daniel Ridge were charged with owning a dangerous animal that caused serious injury.

Roscoe got under the fence in 2015 and ran over and attacked a woman who was spraying fertilizer and weed control on a neighbor’s lawn.

The appeals court says prosecutors failed to show that Roscoe had previously attacked a person, a key point necessary to send the owners to trial. The court says Roscoe’s past aggression against a fence and lawn mower tires doesn’t count.

The dog was described as a pit bull and Shar-Pei mix. The 3-0 decision was dated Tuesday and released today.

(Detroit Free Press - April 26, 2017)