Owner of Pit Bulls that Chewed Off Man's Arm Won't Face Criminal Charges

Detroit police say criminal charges aren’t likely after a pack of pit bulls mauled and nearly killed a 50-year-old man, who is clinging to life after the dogs chewed off most of his left arm.

The man was found naked, with several dogs on top of him, on the night of Oct. 2. Detroit Police Sgt. Michael Woody told the Detroit Free Press police still don’t have all the answers about what caused the attack because there were no eyewitnesses and Steve Constantine, the victim, has been unable to speak. He is in critical condition at Detroit Receiving Hospital.

But, Woody said, the case wasn’t one in which the man opened the door so his dogs would “attack a naked man in his yard.”

“There’s more to it than that,” he said.

“This guy had about 12 dogs. This sort of homespun breeding of pit bulls make the problem a whole lot worse. There are a lot of irresponsible people that own pit bulls.” – Colleen Lynn, founder of DogsBite.org

The dogs’ owner, Derrick Felton, 61, wasn’t home when the dogs escaped, likely through a side door. Police think Felton was squatting at the abandoned, clutter-filled house in the 4500 block of Pennsylvania, The Detroit News reports.

The dog attack was “non-criminal in nature,” Woody said. “We don’t have any real criminality here to suggest that the owner would be arrested for the mauling.”

Felton was arrested after the attack, but on non-related charges related to failure to pay child support.

The lack of criminal charges is an outrage to the founder of a national nonprofit organization that advocates for dog-mauling victims and backs mandatory sterilization of pit bulls. Colleen Lynn, founder of DogsBite.org, said Felton should have faced more severe charges.

“Our primary stance is we would like to see this population reduced,” Lynn told the Free Press. “This guy had about 12 dogs. This sort of homespun breeding of pit bulls make the problem a whole lot worse. There are a lot of irresponsible people that own pit bulls.”

The group cited a report by Animal People that said pit bulls were involved in 25 of 32 dog-bite fatalities in the United States in 2013. Pit bulls make up about 6 percent of the U.S. dog population.

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Though Constantine was naked when police found him, police believe the 12 dogs that had escaped from a house on Detroit’s east side ripped off the man’s clothing. Police shot one of the dogs so medical responders could tend to Constantine, who was pinned to the ground by the dogs.

The other 11 dogs, including four puppies, have been euthanized and tested for rabies. Woody declined to discuss the results of the tests.

Felton was given a misdemeanor ticket, which Constantine’s roommate, Ron Gulledge, called an outrage. “You are responsible for your actions. You are responsible for your dogs, no ifs, ands or buts,” Gulledge said.

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Though police initially thought he lost both hands and feet in the attack, it now appears all but his left hand are intact. Only a small part of his upper left arm remains. Gulledge told the Free Press Constantine’s left leg has rods in it and his right leg, right arm and a portion of his head are heavily bandaged.

Neighbors apparently had complained in the past about Felton’s dogs running unsupervised around the neighborhood, but no one had reported the dogs had been aggressive or injured anyone.

Little is known about the victim beyond his friend’s description that he is an outgoing person who enjoys helping people. He apparently was on disability.

“It’s terrible,” Gulledge said. “You don’t wish nobody to get eaten alive.”

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