The owners of four pit bulls that mauled a UPS driver as he delivered a package to a Puyallup-area property last year will not be charged, the Pierce County Prosecutor's Office said Monday.
To charge the owners, prosecutors would need other incidents of bad behavior by the dogs, and investigators haven't been able to find witnesses to talk about the animals' history, the office said.
The dogs attacked deliveryman Kevin Backlund on Sept. 13, and the Humane Society for Tacoma & Pierce County said earlier this year that the dogs, Laurenitis, L.J., Zero and Lexi, would be euthanized.
Backlund sued the owners, Jason Owens and Darryl Burgess. The lawsuit is pending in Superior Court.
Backlund's attorney, Chris Davis, said the dogs were put down a few weeks ago.
As for the owners not facing criminal charges, "Mr. Backlund is very disappointed with the prosecutor's decision," Davis said. "... He intends to hold the dog owners responsible with his civil lawsuit."
Davis said Backlund is still being treated for his injuries, and that he has not returned to work.
His complaint gives this account of the attack:
Backlund wasn't warned about the dogs, and saw no sign of them when he parked at the property in the 15500 block of 116th Street East, honked, and rattled the fence.
When he walked about 75 feet onto the property the dogs surrounded him.
He got onto a flatbed trailer and called 911, as he tried to fight off the dogs.
An Orting Valley Fire & Rescue battalion chief arrived, and drove through the property's fence to rescue Backlund, who crawled through a window of the emergency vehicle.
The deliveryman needed more than 133 stitches for his three dozen injuries.
Scroll down to continue reading
More news from KIRO 7
- Here's to download a copy of the data Facebook keeps on you
- Q&A: Why the Russian consulate in Seattle is suddenly closing
- Bellevue detectives connect smash and grab teen to crimes in four counties
- Reports: Former Seahawk Michael Bennett turns himself in after felony charge
- E-DUI emphasis patrol to begin first week of April
Cox Media Group
