July 18, 2013

City News Service

 

An arraignment for a Littlerock man charged with murder in the mauling death of a female jogger by pit bulls he allegedly owned was postponed until Aug. 7. Alex Donald Jackson, 29 is charged with murder, negligent ownership of a mischievous animal causing death or serious bodily injury, cultivating marijuana, possession of marijuana for sale and possession for sale of a controlled substance. He is also charged with a count of assault with a deadly weapon stemming from a January confrontation with another person.

Jackson, who remains jailed in lieu of $1.05 million bail, faces up to life in prison if convicted on the charges leveled against him, according to the District Attorney's Office. Deputy District Attorney Samantha MacDonald said that since January, authorities had received at least three other reports of Jackson's pit bulls attacking people. Jackson was arrested the day after the fatal May 9 attack.

Sheriff's deputies searched his home and confiscated eight dogs: six pit bulls and two mixed breeds, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Marijuana also was allegedly found growing on the property. Jackson was released on bail May 10 while DNA tests were pending to determine if his dogs were involved in the death of Pamela Devitt, 63.

According to the Sheriff's Department, Devitt sustained 150 to 200 puncture wounds, and DNA tests confirmed that blood found on four of Jackson's dogs was the victim's.

Category: News