Posted on 04/20/2005 2:17:22 PM PDT by Smogger
SPOTSYLVANIA, Va. Apr 20, 2005 — A woman pleaded not guilty Wednesday in the death of an 82-year-old woman attacked by a pack of roaming pit bulls.
Deanna Large faces charges of involuntary manslaughter and three misdemeanor counts of allowing a dangerous dog to run loose. If convicted of all charges, she faces up to 13 years in prison.
Large, 36, was free on $10,000 bond. She refused to comment after her arraignment in Circuit Court. Relatives of the victim, Dorothy Sullivan, wept and embraced outside the courthouse.
Judge William Ledbetter Jr. appointed attorney Eugene Frost to represent Large and set an Aug. 16 trial date.
Sullivan was out for a walk in her front yard with her little dog Buttons, a Shih Tzu, when they were attacked by three unleashed pit bulls. Buttons was also killed. Sullivan's daughter found her mother's body when she stopped by for a visit soon after the March 8 attack.
"This was a tragic, horrible death," Sullivan family attorney Ed McNelis said Wednesday. "The family just hopes that justice is done."
Family members were too upset to talk to reporters, McNelis said.
Residents of this rural, woodsy community between Washington and Richmond told The Associated Press that roaming pit bulls have terrorized the neighborhood for years. McNelis said Sullivan had called authorities before to complain that dogs had chased her into her house.
While Large admitted owning one of the dogs, Commonwealth's Attorney William Neely has said an investigation revealed she owned all three and had been warned to keep them under better control. Authorities shot and killed two of the pit bulls, and a third was captured and euthanized.
This is just the second time prosecutors in Virginia have sought involuntary manslaughter charges in a fatal dog mauling. Neely on Wednesday called the Large case "uncharted territory."
If they pass a law to shoot freeroaming cats without cause or because they violate property laws (LOL) fido will obviously be next on the list.
13 years isn't nearly enough. She should be up on terrorism charges... setting pit bulls loose is like firing a gun randomly into a crowd.
If that happens, I would suggest that you keep your animals confined to your own premises or on a leash when you walk them.
It's the prudent thing to do.
but if they get out then what? Shot on sight or what? What about the noisy neighbors dog? Hmmm.. He might "accidentally" get out when they are not home. I suppose he would have to be shot too. Comeon. This is clearly not a good idea in an urban setting.
I am not so sure. The parts of America that have the mindset of 'This is my land, dang gum-blammit, and I'm going to shoot any cat what comes a-crossin' it' are also famously kind to big hostile pit-fighting dogs as a means of protecting said property from trespassing toddlers.
After that we seldom saw a stray of any kind.
We lived in a small rural Southern town.
They did not shoot these dogs at random. They knew when they shot them that they had just killed a woman and her doggie.
The Wisconsin cat hunting law was for feral cats in RURAL areas, not urban areas.
Cattle farmers will shoot dogs on sight who chase their cattle.
Well that's certainly a key point, because let me tell you man, I live in the burbs and a law like this would be a recepie for disaster. I can still see a lot of room for tit for tat retaliation between neighbors. Hell people get mad and poison each others pets now.
Around here we can borrow large trap-cages from the local pound for feral cats. A tempting bait is put inside, the cat goes in, and the wire door slams behind it. The city pound then picks up the cat in the cage, and if it has a tag the owners are notified. It costs $48.50 to retrieve your pet from the pound. The animals aren't hurt, and the owners pay to learn their lesson.
Around here the coyotes take care of the feral (and domestic) cat problem.
There is more to this story. As I recall, this woman was previously arrested for molesting a 12 year old boy. Got a three year sentence, most of which was suspended.
without cause, whatch talking about Willis
the pit bulls shot mauled this woman to death
frankly the owners should be put down, anyone that stupid doesn't deserve to own dogs at minimum, why should dog ownership be a right and not a privilege, you don't give a driver's licence to someone who can't pass the test...
ever notice a lot of stupid people who think owning pit bulls makes them tough/macho own this breed
now before you jump on me there are responsible good people who own pit bulls but you can bet those people don't let their dogs run at large......because they bother to do the research
indeed,
I hear lots of scrapping between the local cats and racoons, I have a tree stand beside my house, blood curdling noises though, not sure who wins those, never found a dead cat or racoon, must be a draw....
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