Pit bull owner will not be prosecuted

The owner of the pit bull in the July attack that killed a dachshund will not be criminally prosecuted, according to Steve Lowney, the deputy district attorney handling the case. 

After Gilroy Police interviewed the owner, Lowney decided there was not enough evidence to prove he knew about the dog’s aggression, since he had owned the dog for less than 24 hours. California law requires prosecutors to prove the owner was aware of the dog’s dangerous behavior to hold him criminally accountable. 

The pit bull owner will, however, be charged with a $100 infraction for failing to provide his contact information to the victim after the attack, because he fled the scene. 

“It’s unfortunate that the penalties for his conducts are so low, but we are constrained by the law,” Lowney said.

Lowney said the pit bull owner appeared “remorseful” and offered to write a letter of apology to the victim, 34-year-old Luann Mansean of Gilroy.

The pit bull’s owner bought the dog from a person who allegedly did not tell him it was dangerous, even though it had killed another dog on a prior occasion, Lowney said. The District Attorney will not be prosecuting the prior owner either.

“It’s not a crime to not tell someone a dog is aggressive during a sale,” he said. 

The decision to not criminally prosecute the pit bull’s owner puts to rest questions of how law enforcement will handle the bloody pit bull attack on a dachshund in the parking lot of Starbucks on First Street the morning of July 12. 

The attack led the dachshund to be euthanized that morning, and left its owner with severe, non life-threatening injuries to her wrist.