Dog Owner Charged with Felony after Child Attacked

The 22-year-old owner of a pit bull mix is facing a serious felony charge after his dog attacked and seriously injured a small boy. The dog's owner, A.R., lives at a southwest Houston apartment complex and allegedly often allowed his dog to run around on the grounds off the leash. There had never been any incidents of his dog, a pit bull terrier and Rottweiler mix, causing any reported complaints at the apartment complex and A.R. insisted that his dog had not showed any aggressive behavior before. The incident for which the dog owner is charged happened on a recent afternoon when he asked his 8-year-old step son to take the dog outside in case it needed to go to the bathroom. The boy took the dog out without a leash into the communal courtyard of the complex where several other children were playing. Reports do not describe exactly what happened next but the dog began biting and scratching a two-year-old toddler. The toddler's mother came running over to the little boy and got the dog off of him. The dog and the two-year-old were covered in blood and the child was lying unconscious on the grass. The mother and others who came to help thought the boy was dead at first. Emergency services were called and the child was rushed to a local hospital where he was stabilized after suffering substantial blood loss and a number of punctures and lacerations on his back, face and scalp. Investigators looked into the incident and arrested A.R. about a week later. He was charged and released on $5,000 bail. If convicted of the felony charge against him he faces the possibility of a year or more in prison and thousands in fines and restitution. Get the tough legal help you need by consulting with a criminal defense attorney now.

Charged with a felony in Houston?

Do not face criminal charges on your own! A highly skilled criminal defense attorney with The Martinez Law Firm may be able to get the charges against you reduced or dismissed. A defender on our team has successfully handled a variety of serious felony and misdemeanor cases for clients in the Houston area to excellent results. Felonies are generally punished by a minimum of a year in state prison (or federal prison in the case of a federal offense conviction), fines and probation as well as other possible penalties. Contact our law offices right away to see what an attorney with us may be able to do for you.