Murder charge for dog-pack mauling death
Published:Friday | May 31, 2013 | 12:00 AM
PALMDALE, California (AP):
A Southern California man was arrested yesterday on a felony murder warrant stemming from the mauling death of a jogger by a pack of dogs earlier this month.
The warrant against Alex Jackson, 29, also charges him with owner negligence, said Jane Robison, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office.
Jackson was originally arrested shortly after the May 9 death of Pamela Devitt, 63, who was out for a jog when she was attacked by four pit bulls in Palmdale.
Jackson was released on bail while DNA testing was conducted to determine if his dogs carried out the attack.
Since January, authorities received at least three other reports of Jackson's dogs attacking other people, according to Robison.
Jackson is also charged with several charges related to growing marijuana.
It was unclear whether he had hired an attorney. No number was listed for Jackson in the Palmdale area.
Los Angeles County sheriff's authorities said a driver saw pit bulls attacking Devitt in the high desert community of Littlerock. The driver called 911 and honked her horn to try to get the dogs to stop.
An arriving deputy saw a single dog still attacking the runner and tried to chase it off, Lieutenant John Corina said. The dog ran off into the desert, then turned around and attacked the deputy, who took a shot at the animal before it ran off.