This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Prosecutors have charged a man who allegedly ordered his pit bull to attack a victim in a wheelchair.
In charges filed Tuesday, police wrote that the man in the wheelchair confronted the dog owner on May 15 at 1820 S. Main St. in Salt Lake City. The dog owner had the victim's cell phone and apartment key, and the victim asked for those items to be returned, police wrote.
Instead, the dog owner twice ordered his pit bull to sic the man in the wheelchair, police wrote.
The pit bull attacked the man, biting him in the stomach and knocking him to the ground, police wrote. The dog also bit the man's arm, removing a piece of flesh and muscle "the size of a large marble," police wrote.
Police have said the dog owner claimed he ordered the attack because the victim was chasing him with his motorized wheelchair.
The dog owner, a 23-year-old Midvale man, was charged with second-degree felony aggravated assault.
Erin Alberty