Man Mauled By Pack Of Dogs In Modesto Dies From Injuries
MODESTO, Calif. (AP) - A Central California man has died after he and his 77-year-old mother were mauled by a pack of pit bulls owned by his neighbors, sheriff's officials said Wednesday.
Juan Fernandez, 59, died of multiple traumatic injuries suffered in Tuesday's attack at his home in the city of Modesto, Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson said. His mother, Maria, remained hospitalized in critical condition.
Investigators determined that the dogs were owned by the victims' neighbors and got into the victims' yard through a common fence, Christianson said. He did not identify the owners. They have not been arrested, though Christianson said the investigation into the attack was continuing.
"There is still a lot of work to do," he said. "We have to be able to finish the investigation to determine what happened that led up to this tragedy."
To charge the dog owners criminally, Christianson said authorities would have to show they were negligent. Investigators will be looking to see whether the animals had any contact with animal control officers prior to the attack concerning bites or vicious behavior.
A jury found a man guilty in August of second-degree murder after his pit bulls mauled a woman to death in the high desert town of Littlerock in Southern California.
Prosecutors argued that Alex Donald Jackson, 31, was not just negligent but also knew that his animals could endanger someone's life. They presented evidence that the dogs were involved in at least seven other altercations in the 18 months before the fatal attack on 63-year-old Pamela Devitt.
Also in Southern California, a pit bull mix was cut with a knife and hit with a shovel in South Los Angeles by a person most likely acting in self-defense, police said this week.
In Tuesday's mauling in Modesto, deputies responding to several 911 calls found Juan Fernandez being attacked by three pit bulls in the backyard of his home and a fourth pit bull circling him. Deputies shot and killed two of the dogs. The other two ran off to an adjacent yard but were later shot to death when they charged deputies trying to capture them, sheriff's officials said.
The mother was found inside the home suffering from bite wounds and told deputies she, too, had been attacked by the dogs.
Both victims were taken to a hospital.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.
