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Pit Bull Owner Pleads Not Guilty After Second Attack

Sheri Moody Convicted
UPDATE 10/16/08: A Westminster woman was convicted of misdemeanor charges and ordered to give up her Australian shepherd. Orange County Superior Court Commissioner Thomas Rees sentenced Moody to one year of jail but gave her the option of performing 240 hours of community service instead. The jury spent 1.5 days deliberating the case.

10/10/08: Charges Dropped to Misdemeanor
Sheri Moody -- who has a history of keeping aggressive animals -- faces up to a year in jail if she is convicted. Moody's dog, Maggie, attacked mail carrier David Carroll as he was delivering mail next door on Sept. 4, 2007. He suffered bruises and cuts and had to get stitches. Maggie was euthanized afterward.

Prosecutors initially filed felony charges against Moody for the attack, but a judge dropped the count to a misdemeanor. Moody made headlines last June when her other pit-bull mix, Brutus, was euthanized after attacking a visitor in Moody's home. Moody unsuccessfully sued the city to save that dog's life. The trial, which is under way today, will likely continue into next week.

12/07/07: Facing Felony After Second Attack
Westminster, CA - Sheri Moody pleaded not guilty to a felony charge in connection with a Sept. 4 dog attack in which her pit bull severely injured a postal carrier near her home. Moody -- who fought a months-long legal battle over the fate of another dog that attacked a woman in January -- now faces a maximum of three years in state prison if she’s found guilty in the most recent incident.

District attorneys spokeswoman Farrah Emami
said,
"Her personal history with dog attacks was taken into account in regard to filing the charge as a felony. She had prior knowledge with the earlier attack that her dogs were capable of harming someone. And with that knowledge she failed to control her animals and another person was attacked."

Deputy District Attorney Raymund Diaz said that during the hearing, district attorney’s officials asked for bail despite Moody appearing under the assumption she would be released on her own recognizance. The request stems from a report by Westminster Police detectives that Moody attempted to purchase another pit bull after the attack.


"Her conduct is egregious at this point," Diaz said. "In attempting to purchase another animal it's clear she's not taking seriously the public safety threat and is a greater risk than originally thought."


Moody, 54, was released from the hearing on her own recognizance despite the request, with an order from the court barring her from purchasing any animals during the trial. Leaving the courthouse, Moody -- who previously remarked that the two cases have nothing to do with each other -- declined to comment on the case.

In the Sept. 4 attack, one of Moody’s pit bulls, Maggie, charged and knocked down 16-year veteran mail carrier David Carroll in a neighbor’s yard, biting him repeatedly in the face. A passing motorist stopped to strike the dog with a steel lock from his car to end the attack. The attack came only months after another dog of Moody’s, a pit bull-Australian shepherd mix named Brutus, was ordered euthanized by a Superior court judge.