Owner of killer pit bulls afraid of criminal charges
Knox County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Rick Trott stands near the body of a slain dog outside a home in West Knox County off Sam Lee Road. The dog was one of two that attacked a woman and killed her Monday.
The owner of two pit bull dogs that fatally mauled a 21-year-old woman is concerned he will be charged criminally for something he deemed "an accident" that no one could foresee.
"I don't know what happened, but I think there was a fight and she tried to step in between and they turned on her," Charles Smallwood said this afternoon.
Smallwood said he owned the two dogs, Mafia Lee and Passion Maria, for about three years since they were puppies. He said despite other reports, the two dogs had never attacked anyone or any other dog.
"I've never in my life owned a vicious dog," the 25-year-old man said. He never trained the dogs to fight, he said.
Smallwood said he met Jennifer Lowe several months ago by stopping at the Shell station in Hardin Valley where she worked the 11 p.m.-7 a.m. shift. About two and one-half months ago, Lowe moved into the Sam Lee Road trailer where Smallwood lived with his mother and brother.
Lowe was a tenant at the trailer, Smallwood said.
Lowe was killed Monday by the two pit bulls when attacked inside the trailer, officials said.
Martha Dooley, spokeswoman for the Knox County Sheriff's Office, said today that detectives were still gathering information about the attack.
"Sometime later today we'll take it to the district attorney for a determination of any charges," Dooley said.
Smallwood said he regretted the attack on Lowe, who he said was a sweet woman who had a passel of misfortune dumped on her recently, such as wrecking her car.
"It was an accident and there's nothing I can do," Smallwood said. "This is going to stay with me for the rest of my life. It's not fair that they're trying to make me out to be a bad guy."
Smallwood said he has mental disabilities and is unable to work. He said he collects a disability check.
Smallwood said he never noted any tension between Lowe and his pets.
"She said she wasn't a dog person, but she never voiced she was afraid of the dogs," he said.
Smallwood said Lowe got home shortly after 7 a.m. Monday and went to bed. Both dogs slept in the bed with her, he said.
Lowe awoke about 3 p.m., Smallwood said, and at one point she fed Mafia Lee a piece of bacon as she and the dog sat on a couch together. Smallwood said he left about 3:15 p.m. to pick up a friend who had gotten off work and to buy something to eat. While out on that 35-minute trip, the attack occurred.
Smallwood said he got a telephone call from a friend who told him officers had shot his dogs. When he got home, he saw that Lowe was the victim of his dogs' attack.
"I walked in the house and I just couldn't stay," he said. "I'm crushed. I never want to own another dog for the rest of my life."
Mafia was dead at the scene, and the other ran away. KCSO deputies found that dog, Passion, lying wounded under the trailer this afternoon, Dooley said.
"They've taken it into custody," she said. "They're still looking for one of the puppies."
Knox County Animal Control officers had checked on the two dangerous pit bull dogs three days before the animals mauled Lowe to death.
"We went by just to check," David Head, director of Animal Control, said this morning.
Lowe was found inside the trailer and had suffered massive head and arm injuries.
"This is just speculation, but the female was in heat and the lady was probably trying to break something up and one of the dogs took her down," said Head, who has been with the county animal control department for 27 years.
Smallwood, however, said today that Passion Maria was pregnant and that Mafia Lee was the sire.
Head said officers were first called to the Sam Lee Road area on a dog call in June. The officers didn't see any dogs running at large, which was the complaint. Head said he can't say who owned those dogs because the animals were not seen.
But on Aug. 28, officers were called to the 11300 Sam Lee Road trailer where Lowe lived because the two pit bull dogs had attacked another dog, Head said.
"We deemed both dogs as dangerous," Head said.
Smallwood was cited to county court on a charge of allowing his dogs to run free. Head was unsure of the outcome of the case but he said the maximum penalty is a $50 fine and court costs.
Smallwood said this afternoon that animal control actually cited his brother to court on the charge of allowing a dog to run loose. Smallwood said he paid a $50 fine.
Because Smallwood's dogs were deemed dangerous, Head said certain restrictions were placed on the owner. Smallwood had to build a 6-by-10-foot pen enclosed on the top and bottom for the dogs, Head said.
"If the dogs come out of the pen, they have to be on a leash, even on the owner's property, unless they are in the house," Head said.
Head said officers returned to Smallwood's residence a week after the citation was issued to determine if the owner had complied with legal restrictions. Head said the pen had been built.
Last Friday, Head said, officers made a return visit to Smallwood's trailer to check on the dogs.
"He had them in the front yard without a leash," Head said.
When the animal control officers explained Smallwood was in violation of legal conditions concerning dangerous dogs, Head said Smallwood "did exactly what we told him to do."
Throughout various contacts with Smallwood, Head said the man was cooperative and "had no problems" with restrictions placed on his dogs.
Head said Smallwood and his brother, who also resided at the trailer, seemed at ease with the dogs. Even Lowe seemed comfortable with the pit bulls.
"She kept them in the home more than he did, and that's where the attack occurred," Head said.
Head said Knox County needs tougher laws concerning dogs. For the past two months, he said, a joint task force of officials from the city, county, animal rescue organizations and the health department have been cobbling together proposals to strengthen county ordinances.
"We need a stronger law, like the city has where they can demand the owner of a dangerous dog have a $100,000 bond," Head said.
Head said there is no timetable for the task force to present it findings and proposals.
More details as they develop online and in Wednesday's News Sentinel.
© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
