A thug who shouted ‘kill him’ to his XL Bully before it mauled two men, leaving them with serious injuries, has been jailed.
Colin Pearson, of Sunderland, set his vicious dog on a man after an altercation as well as a Good Samaritan who tried to help.
Pearson was in control of the dog, called King, when he got into an altercation with Kurtis Rutter outside a shop. There was a brief fight between the men before Mr Rutter left the scene, a court heard.
Pearson then let the dog off its lead with the instruction ‘get him’ or ‘kill him’. CCTV shows the horror of what happened next as King chased down Mr Rutter, took him to the ground and latched onto his neck for around a minute.
Brave passer-by Jake Moan was then also mauled after stopping his car to try to come to the aid of Mr Rutter.
Jailing Pearson, 44, at Newcastle Crown Court, Judge Robert Spragg told him: ‘You were in control of an XL Bully, King. You let the dog off the lead saying “get him” or “kill him” or words to that effect.’
He added: ‘The CCTV shows the dog totally out of control, causing havoc on the street as people try to get out of the way.
‘The dog was used as a weapon. It was a busy public area. You were under the influence of drink and or drugs. That’s likely to be one of the reasons you set the dog on him.
‘You deliberately let this highly dangerous dog off the lead to attack Mr Rutter and it then turned on Mr Moan, who very bravely tried to assist. Mr Moan’s injury is horrific.
‘It’s horrendous to watch. Most of it can be seen on CCTV. Other members of the public are jumping out of the way as the dog runs around looking for people to attack.’
At around 1pm on November 3 last year, Mr Rutter was outside a shop in Hendon, Sunderland. He was standing next to Pearson and the dog, which he said he’d had for two weeks and wanted to get rid of.
Joe Hedworth, prosecuting, said there was a brief fight between the two men and Mr Rutter quickly made off. Mr Hedworth said: ‘The defendant let go of the dog and instructed it to ‘get him’. The dog sprinted towards the first complainant, jumped on him and took him to the ground.
‘It repeatedly bit him in the area of his neck and jaw and appeared to latch on.’ The dog also tried to drag the victim around, the court heard.
A car stopped and two men, including the second victim, Jake Moan, tried to get the dog off Mr Rutter. Mr Hedworth said: ‘In response, the dog attacked the second complainant.
‘It bit his hand and forearm and latched on. He panicked and tried to get the dog off. As he pulled his arm away, the wound was, in his words, torn further. The dog then returned to the first complainant. It bit his legs and crotch.’
As people tried to stop the dog, Pearson had remained outside the shop, watching on. As the dog went to bite Mr Rutter’s lower body, he approached and hit the dog with a stick.
People were trying to get out of the way of the out of control animal and warned a police officer who turned up not to get out of his car for his own safety. The officer tasered the dog from his car and it was then lured into a police vehicle.
The court heard both men suffered significant wounds. Mr Moan had to have his injuries cleaned out under general anaesthetic.
Mr Hedworth said: ‘It was a sustained attack in the middle of the day when numerous members of the public were present, including an elderly person.’
Mr Rutter said he was left with PTSD and Mr Moan said the attack had a huge impact on him. He was left suffering a lack of feeling in his arm and struggled to pick up his son and felt self-conscious about the scar on his arm.
He added: ‘I used to be a very confident, outgoing lad until this happened. I now have social anxiety and feel I’m a shell of my former self.
‘I struggle to be around dogs. I turn and walk away when I come across them, which is not like me. I have flashbacks of what happened to me and what happened to the other lad.
‘My girlfriend has woken me up for shouting and screaming in my sleep. It’s had such a huge impact on me I feel as if I’m a different person.’
The dog was later destroyed by a vet with the consent of its owners.
Pearson, of Noble Street, Sunderland, who has 165 previous convictions, pleaded guilty to two counts of being a person in charge of a dog dangerously out of control causing injury. He was also in breach of two suspended prison sentences and was jailed for a total of three years.
Pearson claimed the dog belonged to a drug dealer. The court heard he has mental health issues.
Christopher Knox, defending, said: ‘He was not the owner of the dog. He had it in his possession..
‘This was not something he sought out. It happened on the spur of the moment. He did use a stick to try to get the dog to stop doing what it was doing.. He was completely unable to control the dog, as everyone else was.’
Jonathan Halstead, 35 – January 29, 2020
Jonathan died from a severe neck injury and bites after being attacked in his home in Oldham, Greater Manchester by his pet Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Bronson.
It is believed the dog attacked him when its owner suffered an epileptic fit.
Jack Lis, 10 – November 8, 2021
Schoolboy Jack Lis, ten, suffered catastrophic injuries after being mauled by an American XL bully dog called Beast while visiting a friend’s home in Penyrheol in Caerphilly, Wales on November 8, 2021.
Neighbours and Welsh Ambulance Service paramedics desperately tried to save him but he died at the scene. Armed police destroyed the dog on site.
Adam Watts, 55 – December 22, 2021
Adam Watts, 55, was attacked at the Juniper Kennels and Cattery in Kirkton of Auchterhouse, near Dundee, and was pronounced dead at the scene on December 22, 2021.
Bella-Rae Birch, 17 months – March 21, 2022
Toddler Bella-Rae Birch was attacked by her family’s pet American bully XL dog when she was just 17 months old.
The vicious dog snatched the child out of her mother’s arms while they were at their home in Blackbrook, St Helens, Merseyside, on March 21 last year.
Keven Jones, 62 – May 28, 2022
Keven Jones died after he was attacked by an American Bully XL dog in Wrexham, Wales on May 28 last year.
Ambulance workers attempted to save him but they were unable to stop his left leg bleeding.
Mr Jones was then pronounced dead at his son’s house following the attack.
Joanne Robinson, 43 – July 15, 2022
Mother-of-two Joanne Robinson, 43, was killed by her American bully XL dog, Rocco, after it ‘turned mad in the extreme heat’ in July last year.
She died at the scene of the attack at home in Rotherham, South Yorkshire while her partner, Jamie Stead, was left with injuries to his hands, stomach and face as he tried to pull the animal off her.
Joanne’s mother Dot, of Wath-upon-Dearne, South Yorkshire, revealed at the time that Rocco had previously fought with their other dog Lola – and she had warned her daughter to ‘get rid of one of them’.
Ian Symes, 34 – August 2022
Ian ‘Wiggy’ Symes, 34, who is understood to have been walking a bully XL dog himself at a recreation ground in Fareham, Hampshire, died at the scene following a horrific dog attack in August 2022.
His devastated family said he was ‘doing something he loved’ when he died in the field in Fareham, Hampshire.
Ann Dunn, 65 – October 3, 2022
Ann Dunn, 65, was found collapsed with ‘catastrophic injuries’ at her Liverpool home she shared with seven dogs on October 3 last year.
She was mauled to death by dogs including an American bully XL – and had been sent to hospital a year before her death because she had been bitten by a dog.
Shirley Patrick, 83 – December 3, 2022
Widowed grandmother Shirley Patrick, 83, died after being viciously mauled by an XL bully in her own home.
The retired nurse died in hospital 17 days after suffering ‘life-threatening injuries’ during the ‘hellish’ and ‘violent’ dog attack in Caerphilly, South Wales on December 3 last year.
Jonathan Hogg, 37 – May 18, 2023
Jonathan Hogg, 37, was mauled to death by an American XL bully dog when it turned on him while he was looking after it for a friend.
He entered the pen when it went for him, leaving bite wounds on his arm, leg and head, an inquest heard.
He was rushed to hospital but died of his injuries after the mauling in Leigh, Greater Manchester, on May 18 this year.
Ian Price, 52 – September 14, 2023
On Thursday, September 14, ‘pillar of the community’ Ian Price, 52, was attacked and killed by two ‘devil’ XL bully dogs after they jumped out of his neighbour’s window in Stonnall, Staffordshire.
Mr Price was attacked and killed by the two dogs which jumped out of a neighbour’s window yards from a primary school. He reportedly died defending his elderly mother from the animals.
The dogs bit him and ripped the clothes from his body leaving him dying in a pool of blood in his boxer shorts in the horror attack just feet from his home.
Ian Langley, 54 – October 3, 2023
Ian Langley, 54, was set upon on the estate in Sunderland on October 3 this year by an enormous XL bully dog which grabbed him by the neck as he bent down to pick up his Patterdale terrier pup.
The attack left Mr Langley needing CPR for around 15 minutes as emergency services fought to stop heavy bleeding from his wounds. He died from his injuries.