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Wednesday, August 19, 2009


Spotsylvania Victim Lies to Authorities About Dog Breed After Son's Pit Bull Attacks



Arrested Again
UPDATE 08/19/09: Michael Baggett has been arrested again. Earlier this month he was charged with obstruction of justice and filing a false police report after his pit bull violently attacked his mother and her dog. Both he and his mother, Sandra Manes, lied about the incident and blamed it on a "rottweiler-mix." Over the weekend, Baggett was arrested and charged with two counts of prescription fraud after an incident Saturday at a CVS Pharmacy on Courthouse Road.

Amy Baggett, 29, was also arrested and charged in the incident.

08/10/09: Mother and Son Face Charges
Sandra Manes and her 32-year old son Michael Baggett were arrested and charged with obstruction of justice and filing a false police report. Manes was also charged with cruelty to animals. Baggett was additionally charged with failing to have proper rabies shots for his dog, as well as, a county dog license. Manes had reported that she was walking her dog when it was attacked by a "rottweiler mix." But the attack actually stemmed from her son's pit bull.

Commonwealth's Attorney William Neely said the incident occurred in the family's back yard. Neely said the animal cruelty charge was filed against Manes because the incident occurred about 1 a.m. and wasn't reported until six to eight hours later. Neely said the Labrador suffered all that time. Manes was released on a personal recognizance bond. Baggett, however, is no stranger to jail and was placed in the Rappahannock Regional Jail under a $2,500 bond.

As a DogsBite.org commenter noted right away, Baggett served a 7-year prison term as the result of his role in a 1996 slaying at a rest stop in Dale City. Bobby Lee Durham Sr. of Dover, Pennsylvania, was shot in a bathroom stall during a robbery in which he did not resist. Baggett, who was 19 at the time and testified for the prosecution, was convicted of conspiracy. His two accomplices, Andre Carter and Khalif Rodriguez, got 44- and 18-year sentences respectively.

08/07/09: Victim Called Dog a Rottweiler-Mix
Spotsylvania County, VA - In what ought to enrage rottweiler owners, Sandra Manes, 60, told authorities that a rottweiler-mix attacked her when in truth it was her son's pit bull. The dog killed Mane's own dog and left her with puncture wounds, a broken shinbone and a broken finger. Police discovered the "breed cover up" after receiving an anonymous tip. The son, Michael Baggett, admitted to officials it was his pit bull, which had been hidden in his room since the incident.

The attack on Manes and her dog caused county authorities to issue a warning to Wilburn Farms subdivision residents telling them to "stay inside" and "be on the lookout" until the loose rottweiler was caught (see video). Authorities also left fliers on mailboxes with the image of a rottweiler and description of Sunday's lethal attack. "Obviously do not approach this animal," 1st Sgt. Liz Scott of the Spotsylvania Sheriff's Department said. "Take shelter and call us immediately."

County authorities were rightfully concerned given that in 2005, 82-year old Dorothy Sullivan and her dog "Buttons" were killed by three loose pit bulls about 30 miles away. Sullivan's family subsequently sued four Spotsylvania County animal control officers in civil court for gross negligence in the events leading up to her death. On the criminal side, the owner of the pit bulls, Deanna Large, became the first person in Virginia convicted in a case involving a pet killing a person.

Related articles:
03/13/09: Couple Blames Cougar for Serious Attack Inflicted by Their Own Pit Bull
03/06/09: 2005 Fatality: Victim's Family Sues Animal Control in Spotsylvania
09/24/08: Pit Bull Owner Blames Attack on "Made Up" Pit Bull

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posted by bitbypit  |  permalink  |  20 comments  |iconemail  |iconsubscribe 
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20 comments:

Anonymous Trigger  |  8/07/2009 1:51 AM  |  Flag  
I hope this Michael Baggett of Fredericksburg, who would be about 31 years old today, is not the owner of this pit bull....

1997, Washington Post - "Two Spotsylvania, Va., teenagers accused of killing a motorist at a rest stop on Interstate 95 in Prince William County will not face the death penalty after charges against them were downgraded yesterday. At a Circuit Court hearing, the capital murder charges against Michael T. Baggett Jr. and Khalif A. Rodriguez, both 19, were amended to murder..."
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1P2-708083.html

There is more, including a Sandy (Sandra) Rapier.
http://tinyurl.com/m7dzgy

Anonymous Anonymous  |  8/07/2009 1:54 AM  |  Flag  
Woman, 82, Mauled to Death In Attack by Pack of Pit Bulls
---
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22147-2005Mar9.html

"Smith confirmed that animal control officers had been called to the area several times in recent months because of roaming pit bulls -- including Tuesday, before Sullivan's death was reported. But they were never able to find the dogs, he said."

Anonymous Anonymous  |  8/07/2009 5:06 AM  |  Flag  
How would you like to be a neighboring Rott owner and have A/C show up at your door due to this Nutterness?!

Spotsyvania county just had a young boy lifeflighted a couple of moths ago. Obviously, not bringing discredit to the breed was more important than public safety to these nutters.

Anonymous Trigger  |  8/07/2009 10:31 AM  |  Flag  
Was it Spotsylvania? There was the terrible attack in Culpeper County -- which is adjacent to Spotsylvania -- that required TWO life flight helicopters:

Pit Bull Attack Claims Two Victims, Requires Two LifeFlight Helicopters
http://tinyurl.com/kogttn

Anonymous Anonymous  |  8/07/2009 10:38 AM  |  Flag  
Filing a false police report, especially one that results in wasted efforts by police, demands jail time - jail time AND A BAN to put an end to this insanity.

Blogger cravendesires  |  8/07/2009 1:12 PM  |  Flag  
liars liars pants on fires

http://cravendesires.blogspot.com/2009/08/honestsane-pit-nutters-scarce-as-hens.html

a common theme running here.

Anonymous Anonymous  |  8/08/2009 3:34 PM  |  Flag  
It's so nice that the dog lobby was able to prevent BSL a few years ago when Dorothy Sullivan was killed... making sure they could sell pit bulls to convicted murderers.

Anonymous Anonymous  |  8/10/2009 11:32 PM  |  Flag  
They should bill her for every penny spent searching for the fake dog.

Blogger cravendesires  |  8/11/2009 12:16 PM  |  Flag  
meet the cast of characters

http://cravendesires.blogspot.com/2009/08/charges-possible-in-spotsy-dog-attack.html

Anonymous Anonymous  |  8/11/2009 12:37 PM  |  Flag  
Oh my, listen to what the mother says from her hospital bed, "If this is your dog, please, please have the guts to come forward so that I don't have to go through rabies shots. I think I've already gone through enough 'cause of your dog."
---
http://www.wric.com/Global/story.asp?S=10845243

She'll need a wheel chair, then a walker for several weeks. I guess a mother will sacrifice just about anything, even to protect a murdering son.

Anonymous Anonymous  |  8/11/2009 6:19 PM  |  Flag  
Nooo....It's a media conspiracy!

Anonymous Anonymous  |  8/11/2009 6:46 PM  |  Flag  
It gets even better...The mom is charged with cruelty to aniamls because she waited 6-8 hours before calling A/C while her Lab was dying....Good gawd ...these nutters!

http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2009/082009/08112009/485698?rss=local

Anonymous Jimmy O  |  8/11/2009 11:26 PM  |  Flag  
If only she would have said her dog was attacked by a pit bull, the authorities wouldn't have thought twice about it and dropped it.

Anonymous Anonymous  |  8/12/2009 2:30 AM  |  Flag  
So Rodriguez is out? But he's probably already back in. Weird, this appears to be a court room photo of the sentencing for Rodriguez:

"In a Manssas, Va. courtroom, Sgt. Jesus Rodriguez, right, sits in stunned silence while friends cry following the sentencing of his son Khalif Rodriguez, ..."

http://www.jeffmankie.com/index.php#mi=2&pt=1&pi=10000&s=12&p=2&a=0&at=0

Anonymous Donnie Brasco  |  8/19/2009 9:55 AM  |  Flag  
Law enforcement across this country understand that pit bull ownership and criminal conduct are synonymous. For those pit bull fans out there reading this, synonymous means the "same thing". Where there are pit bulls, there are drugs, guns and thugs.

Blogger cravendesires  |  8/19/2009 11:22 AM  |  Flag  
michael t. baggett ought to be made the poster boy for who should NOT own a pit bull.

http://www.criminalsearches.com/details.aspx?id=w1x00xC8&vw=criminal&1=mfrBpA07UfpdvT3JIVa9ICSr1YG2z5wOfU%2fcKbpMPKY%3d&input=name

Anonymous Anonymous  |  8/19/2009 12:21 PM  |  Flag  
Why are we letting "pit bull advocates" like Baggett strongarm us into no rules for pit bull owners?

Anonymous Anonymous  |  8/19/2009 12:36 PM  |  Flag  
They are not exactly strong arming us (the public). They are strong arming policy makers such as city councils, the good old "animal control advisory boards," state legislators and others. The State of Virginia passed an anti-BSL measure that greatly benefits Baggett (and criminals like him), pit bull breeders and dogfighters. The public on the other hand, suffers terribly under the measure.

Anonymous Anonymous  |  8/19/2009 9:52 PM  |  Flag  
Reading the comment thread on the latest update is like watching a Springer episode, and pit nutters wonder why people have such low opinions of them.

Anonymous Trigger  |  11/15/2009 9:18 AM  |  Flag  
A winner of an update!

11/14/09 -- "A mother and son whose lie about an Aug. 2 dog attack stirred fear and had authorities looking for a dog that didn't exist entered guilty pleas yesterday. Michael Taylor Baggett, 32, and Sandra Manes, 60, both pleaded guilty in Spotsylvania General District Court to filing a false police report. They blamed each other for the lie. Baggett, who was also convicted of three other charges, got a 12-month jail sentence with six months suspended. Manes got a suspended sentence. Baggett immediately appealed his sentence, which is allowable even on guilty pleas in General District Court. He remained free on bond pending a trial in circuit court. According to prosecutor Tom Shaia, Baggett's pit bull and Manes' pet Labrador got into a fight early Aug. 2 in the backyard of their residence at 1222 Dewberry Drive. Manes tried to break up the fight and suffered a broken leg, a broken finger and wounds that required 27 staples…"

"…Manes said Baggett told her what to tell authorities. "The whole story was dictated to me to me by my son," she said. "I was trying to protect [the pit bull] and my son from getting into trouble. I lied and I'm sorry." Both Shaia and Judge Michael Levy criticized Baggett for trying to blame his mother. Levy said it was clear that Baggett was behind the original lie. Baggett and Manes were also ordered to make $2,625 in restitution to the county for the time spent investigating their phony claim. Baggett was also ordered to have no contact with his mother while the case is on appeal. Shaia expressed concern that he might harm her for contradicting his claims yesterday."
---
http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2009/112009/11142009/507723

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