43
Man faces charges tied to pit bull
YOUNGSTOWN
A 29-year-old North Side man faces misdemeanor charges after police were forced to use an electric stinger gun to control his loose pit-bull terrier dog.
Lucky R. Mitchell, 29, of Lee Street, is charged with having a vicious dog and not having his dog properly registered. He is due to appear Sept. 27 before Judge Elizabeth Kobly of Youngstown Municipal Court.
Police were sent to the 600 block of Lee Street to investigate a fight between a man and woman late Tuesday evening.
Reports say officers were standing in the street when a large, black pit bull ran off the porch at 624 Lee and began charging, barking and growling at officers.
One officer pulled out a handgun with laser and aimed at the dog, but the dog ran back toward the house.
More officers arrived at the scene, and the dog ran off the porch a second time and charged at them. Officer Brad Ditullio shot the dog with a department-issued stinger stun gun, a gun that shoots electric barbs into the skin.
The dog, after being hit with the electric barbs from the gun, again ran to 624 Lee and tried to hide from police. Police reportedly attempted to reach the dog warden but were unsuccessful.
Reports say Mitchell returned to the house while officers were still on the scene and was asked if the loose dog in question belongs to him. Mitchell told police the dog is his and asked why they were asking about the animal.
Mitchell was given a summons detailing the charges against him and released at the scene.
This past Sunday, a South Side woman watched as her neighbor’s two pit-bull terriers attacked and killed her small black and white terrier.
The Clearmont Avenue woman told police her family pet of 12 years, “Good Buddy,” was in her backyard at about 1:30 p.m. Sunday when the two dogs broke loose from a neighbors house and attacked her dog. The dog warden is investigating.
The city has an ordinance prohibiting pit-bull terriers in city limits. Pit bulls in the city before September 2007 that have been registered, properly leashed and confined in an enclosed pen are exempt from the ordinance.
Owners also must display “Beware of Dog” signs and carry $100,000 worth of liability insurance.