Man jailed after his canine mauled his youthful brother to loss of life in ‘horrific’ assault | EUROtoday

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A canine proprietor whose eight-stone Cane Corso mauled his youthful brother to loss of life in a “horrific” assault at their house has been jailed.

Gary Stevens knew the 14-month-old canine was aggressive and “would normally go for the face and neck” earlier than it attacked his sibling Wayne Stevens, Derby Crown Court was advised.

Stevens, 55, sat along with his head bowed within the dock as prosecutors outlined how his brother was discovered lifeless at their house in Cameron Road, Normanton, Derby, after a 999 name at 5.52am on 22 April final yr.

Judge Shaun Smith KC was advised Stevens wrongly advised an emergency operator the Cane Corso was a poodle earlier than police and paramedics have been confronted by the “incredibly heavy” canine.

After listening to how Stevens was abusive to emergency crews earlier than the “frenzied” canine was repeatedly tasered and finally shot nearly an hour later, Judge Smith advised the father-of-three: “Paramedics and police officers attended the scene and you came to the front door clearly very drunk. You were obstructive as your exchanges with the officers continued. Police officers tried to persuade you to bring the dog under control – your response was to mock them for standing back.”

The decide added: “I am entirely satisfied that you clearly knew of the dangers this dog presented prior to that fateful night. There was a lack or loss of control of the dog due to the influence of alcohol.”

During his sentencing remarks, the decide accepted that witnessing the loss of life of his brother and being unsuccessful in saving him was prone to have affected the defendant’s psychological well being.

The court docket was advised the sufferer, aged 51, who had been ingesting vodka along with his brother after getting back from a pub, died close to the foot of a stairway after struggling what the decide summarised as “multiple, massive and horrific” accidents.

Stevens, now of Vicarage Road, Mickleover, Derby, pleaded responsible in September final yr to being accountable for a canine dangerously uncontrolled inflicting damage ensuing within the loss of life.

As a part of his sentence, Stevens was additionally given a life ban from retaining a canine.

The court docket was advised the Cane Corso was a “blend with some sort of bull terrier”, which was not an XL bully, and was given to Stevens by a mother-of-five who had “too much going on” to take care of it.

Prosecutor Laura Pitman advised the court docket Stevens had sworn at officers, held the canine’s lead slackly and let the animal unfastened, inflicting a few of the emergency providers current to “retreat” inside autos.

An ambulance technician “bravely” entered the premises and was bitten on the thigh as he checked on the casualty, who was seen to be deceased.

In police interviews, Ms Pitman advised the court docket, Stevens stated: “The dog would normally go for the face or neck area if it was aggressive because that’s what these dogs do – they are biting dogs.”

Initially, Stevens had used a cage to guard others, however later let the canine roam inside his property.

Elsewhere within the interviews, he described the pet as “assertive” and stated it had beforehand attacked an Akita, and had “gone for” and “had a look at” his two different brothers.

Asked by police how he believed the deadly incident had occurred, Stevens stated of Wayne: “My brother speaks with his hands, especially after a drink. He can be quite aggressive in his tone and the dog would react to that. I think that must have been the trigger – it’s the only thing I can think of.”

During mitigation, defence counsel Tony Stanford stated Stevens had been subjected to extreme violence throughout his childhood and had supplied Wayne someplace to stay at a time when he was homeless.

“It’s something he will never forget and something he will never forgive himself for,” Mr Stanford stated. “His remorse is genuine.”

Commenting after the listening to, Detective Inspector Chris Barker stated: “This was a very difficult incident which put officers and paramedics at significant risk, and I would like to extend my gratitude to those who attended.

“They did everything they could to try and protect everyone involved, and not cause harm to the dog involved, however, ultimately, there was no other option than for it to be destroyed.

“I am sure the swift actions and clear decision-making at the scene helped prevent further injury to others.

“My thoughts, as they have been from the start of this investigation, are with Wayne’s family and I thank them for their support throughout this process.”