RALEIGH -- A Superior Court judge dismissed assault charges Wednesday against the caretaker of two pit bulls that attacked a 6-year-old boy in the spring, but not before some harsh words for the accused and advocating changes to state law.
The case against Anthony Whitfield, the 23-year-old man charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, was one of the first in the state to test whether pit bulls are so inherently dangerous that their custodians are responsible for controlling them as if they were weapons.
In March, two dogs in the care of Whitfield attacked Isaiah Hardy. The boy, who was outside his home when the dogs jumped him, spent three days in the hospital and a month at home recovering from the 42 bites and lacerations on his face, arms, body and head, according to court testimony.
Whitfield was charged with a felony that could have brought prison time.
For much of Tuesday and part of Wednesday morning, Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Davis put animal control and law enforcement officers on the stand to testify about the demeanor of the dogs and the attack on Isaiah, now 7 and in the first grade.
Ken Titus, the judge overseeing the trial this week in Wake County Superior Court, turned to jurors before dismissing the charges.
"We can all agree that this was an absolutely horrible thing that has happened," Titus said.
But Titus had to weigh two legal issues - whether a dog can be a deadly weapon under North Carolina law and whether the caretaker of the animals was willfully negligent and intended for the dogs to inflict injury.
"It would be a stretch to say these dogs were used in a deadly manner," Titus said.
According to testimony, the dogs, Chloe and Cheyenne, had killed at least one cat, and Whitfield knew about that. But there was no evidence of attacks on people, and Whitfield's attorney said the dogs have played with other children.
In recent years, pit bulls have become street-tough status symbols in gang-plagued neighborhoods. Many also associate the breed with merciless blood sports and underground dog-fighting, a reputation that troubles some. In some cities and counties across the country, breed-specific ordinances have been adopted to outlaw pit bulls.
Call to change law
Titus said he thought state law should be tweaked so irresponsible pet owners can be held criminally accountable for vicious attacks.
In Wisconsin, he said, prosecutors do not have to prove willful negligence and intent to inflict injury. They simply have to show the negligence or intent. North Carolina law, though, requires both.
"It would have taken that extra leap that I cannot find that he intended the consequences of his gross negligence or action," Titus said.
Nevertheless, Titus rebuked Whitfield. "That little boy suffered a devastating event," Titus said.
Whitfield declined comment after the trial. He said he worried about the possibility of a lawsuit in civil court.
Isaiah, the boy injured by the dogs, was in the courtroom for the first day of the trial.
As the prosecutor questioned animal control officers, Isaiah glanced up every so often from the stick figures and elaborate scene he was drawing to see pictures of him taken in the hospital shortly after the attack. He had healed, his family said, but he no longer was a fan of pit bulls.
"I like puppies, not pit bulls 'cause they bite," Isaiah said during a break in the trial.
Ellen Hardy, the boy's aunt, was upset after the case was dismissed. She wanted Whitfield to be held criminally responsible.
"He needs to get time for this," Hardy said. "He knew how vicious those dogs were."
