Law enforcement officials have not identified the man, who was taken Thursday to Cleveland’s MetroHealth Medical Center. He was last listed in critical condition.
Rybecca Lynn Kubisen said the victim is her grandfather, who was at the family home.
According to the Lorain County Auditor’s Office, Roy Warner owns the home.
Warner is a former Lorain County Drug Task Force officer. Warner was arrested and charged, along with his wife, daughter and ex-son-in-law with theft from an elderly person (see below).
Kubisen said on Facebook that her grandfather had mistaken her home for his side of the house.
The home, at 52967 State Route 18, is split into two living quarters with a door that separates the two areas, essentially making it a duplex.
“My dog was very, very protective of my family,” she wrote. “We were not home at the time so my dog reacted as he naturally would and protected our house while we were gone. It was also dark outside and dark in the house, so there was no way he could tell who it was.”
Lorain County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Daniel Ashdown said at least three dogs were in the home and that the dogs appeared to be boxer mixes.
A trooper from the Ohio Highway Patrol who happened to be in the area at the time of the 911 call was the first to arrive on scene and shot and killed one of the dogs, Ashdown said.
Kubisen spoke on Facebook about how she loved the animal and hoped for her grandfather’s recovery.
“My heart is so hurt,” she said. “I grew up with him and I wish there was a better way, but unfortunately because we were not home the troopers had to do what they had to. All I can do is hope my grandfather will recover and be there for my family.”
The county dog warden determined the remaining dogs were no threat to the family and allowed them to stay at the home.
Ashdown said Friday that the detectives were investigating, but because it was a family pet that attacked a family member there likely would be no charges.
“Our involvement from this point will be limited, but the dog warden will do his part for licensing, liability insurance and any previous instances,” he said.
The Lorain County Sheriff's Office says a 72-year-old man was listed in critical condition after he was attacked by a dog Thursday.
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ORIGINAL STORY -- Authorities say the man lives in a duplex at the 52900 block of state Route 18.
The man and his wife were watching their grandchild in their half of the duplex when the man wandered into the half of the residence where four dogs reside and one of the dogs attacked him.
An Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper was in the area and responded to the call within minutes.
Upon arriving to the home, the trooper found the dog attacking the couple. The trooper fired three shots, killing the dog.
The victim, whose identity has not been released, was taken to MetroHealth via LifeFlight. His wife was taken to Allen Memorial Hospital with minor injuries.
The Lorain County Dog Warden was called to the home and determined the remaining three dogs were not a threat to the family.
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Two officers among four indicted in theft case
A Lorain County Jail guard, a former Lorain County Drug Task Force agent and some of their family members have been indicted on theft charges.
They are accused of stealing money from an elderly family member they were caring for and using it to buy a house.
Corrections Officer Bart Kubisen, 57, is charged with a single count of theft, while former Drug Task Force Agent Roy Warner, 71, faces two counts of theft from an elderly person.
Warner’s wife, Vesta Warner, 70, also faces two counts of theft from an elderly person, while Kubisen’s ex-wife, 43-year-old Robyn Kubisen (aka Robyn Warner), who is also the Warners’ daughter, is charged with one count of theft and two counts of theft from an elderly person.
Court records show that Bart and Robyn Kubisen divorced in 2007.
Court records show that Bart and Robyn Kubisen divorced in 2007.
The four family members are accused of using deception and intimidation to gain control of money that wasn’t theirs, Assistant County Prosecutor Dave Muhek said. The victim in the case had received more than $100,000 in compensation for injuries sustained in an accident. Muhek said the Warners and Kubisens stole the money, he said.
“We have a number of individuals in a family who took advantage of another family member,” Muhek said.
The Warners, along with Robyn Kubisen, all live at 52967 state Route 18 in Brighton Township, a property that Roy Warner purchased in July 2012 for $224,000. Muhek said that house was bought in part with money that was taken from the victim in the case.
The indictment seeks the forfeiture of that property because it was allegedly acquired through the commission of a felony.
The charges stem from a period between June and September 2012, except for one theft charge against Robyn Kubisen, which allegedly took place between June and October 2015.
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Oberlin man accuses relatives of theft in lawsuit
An Oberlin man has sued several family members for allegedly mistreating him and stealing his money to pay for their own expenses, including the purchase of a Brighton Township home.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday on behalf of David Smith in Lorain County Common Pleas Court, largely mirrors a series of criminal indictments handed down in May that accused several of Smith’s family members, including two who worked in law enforcement, of theft.
Former Lorain County Drug Task Force agent Roy Warner, his wife, Vesta Warner, their daughter, Robyn Kubisen, and her ex-husband, Bart Kubisen, who was working as a Lorain County Jail guard at the time, all have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.
Lawyers for Roy and Vesta Warner have insisted that there was no wrongdoing on the part of their clients, who they said had cared for the elderly Smith.
Smith’s lawyer, Jonathan Rosenbaum, wrote that in addition to controlling his finances, the family also stole a $123,120 settlement Smith received for injuries sustained in a 2010 car accident when he was trying to return to Tennessee because of the mistreatment he received at the hands of Robyn Kubisen.
In addition to helping purchase the house, Smith’s money was allegedly used to repay money embezzled by Robyn Kubisen from a parent-teacher association, to cover rent, to pay for a car and in the form of checks that were written to various family members, according to the lawsuit.
Rosenbaum wrote that Smith and his late wife, Irene Smith, had been living in Tennessee until Irene Smith developed dementia and David Smith became too ill to care for her.
At that point Vesta Warner, who was Irene Smith’s daughter, brought her to Ohio, the lawsuit said. They also allegedly took all of David Smith’s possessions with them, leaving him only a single bed and his clothes.
Once the Warners got back to Ohio, they allegedly either sold Smith’s property or divided it among themselves and their children, Robyn Kubisen, Roger Warner and Rhonda Szakal, who also are named as defendants in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also names Tim Halsted, who lives with Robyn Kubisen, and Kubisen’s son, Ryan Marquis, as defendants.
Once his wife was moved to Ohio, David Smith followed her and moved in with Robyn Kubisen, who Rosenbaum contends “took control of David Smith’s life and finances.”
In addition to taking his checkbook and bank cards, the Warners, Robyn Kubisen and Bart Kubisen controlled his comings and goings, when he could eat, how much medication he received, who he could talk to and how his money was spent, the lawsuit said.
He also was bitten by dogs owned by the family and “lived in fear,” according to the lawsuit.
They also allegedly threatened to move him into a nursing home if he disobeyed them, forced him to wash dishes and do other chores and belittled his religious beliefs, Rosenbaum wrote.
Smith was allegedly told that no one would believe him if he reported his family members because “they were the police,” the lawsuit said.
