St. Paul man charged in connection to dog attack that injured 7-year-old girl
Update (Dec. 15, 2024) — Marco Antonio Mendoza Landaverde pleaded guilty on Nov. 26 to one count each of failing to restrain an animal from inflicting bodily injury to another person and not vaccinating his pets against rabies.
ST. PAUL, Minn. — A 37-year-old man has been charged after his dogs allegedly attacked a little girl while she was walking home in St. Paul last month.
Marco Antonio Mendoza Landaverde was charged Friday with two counts each of failing to restrain an animal from inflicting bodily injury to another person and not vaccinating his pets against rabies.
On Feb. 8, officers were called to the 600 block of Van Buren Avenue just before 5 p.m. on a report of a girl being bitten by a group of dogs.
The family of the injured girl told WCCO that Sacadiya Abdulahi was walking her 7-year-old daughter Sumaya from her bus stop when they were surrounded by five dogs. The girl had pieces of her nose, ear and thigh bitten off, according to the family.
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Charging documents filed in Ramey County say the dogs stopped attacking and ran away when a car honked its horn. The driver of the car was later identified as Mendoza Landaverde.
Mendoza Landaverde told police he let the dogs out on the afternoon of the incident but didn't realize the gate was open.
Charges say Mendoza Landaverde was only able to provide proof of rabies vaccinations for two of the five dogs. Investigators also learned that Mendoza Landaverde did not license any of the dogs and did not have a permit allowing him to own more than three dogs.
All five of the dogs were declared dangerous and were surrendered to the St. Paul Animal Control, where they were euthanized.
Note: The video above originally aired on Feb. 9, 2024.