Arrested for Violating Parole
UPDATE 09/26/08: Travis Cunningham was arrested for violating his parole. In the course of investigating the pit bull attack, and due to the fact that Cunningham is currently on probation, corrections officers had authority to search his home. Officials subsequently found drug paraphernalia and handguns inside, which led to his arrest. A charging decision on the pit-bull attack is expected next week.
09/26/08: Travis Cunningham Jailed
SeaTac, WA - The owner of the pit bulls that brutally attacked a 71-year-old woman, sending her to the hospital with serious injuries, has been arrested. King County Jail records show that Travis Dean Cunningham, 36, was booked into jail on drug and other charges. Bail has been denied. Cunningham has previously been convicted of assault, burglary, unlawful possession of firearms and drug possession.
Makes a good case for felons to be denied ownership of pit bulls.
Though Cunningham broke several laws, which lead to the brutal mauling of Huong Le, it does not appear that these charges are related to the attack. Eric John Makus, who considers attack victim Huong Le his adopted mother, said he was "pleased" when a King County sheriff's detective called him to inform him of the arrest. Le is still recovering from the attack and 10 hours of surgery for her wounds.
Related article:
09/13/08: Coverage of the Seattle Area Pit Bull Attack and Activism
Pit bulls and criminals who would have thought?
Is there anybody in the world that would disagree that felons should not be allowed to own pit bulls, other than felons who don’t have a vote on any issue?
I don’t care if a community sees it as a first step in pit bull control, or the only thing they would ever do about pit bulls, but it’s a simple step that needs no debate, and even pit bull advocates should have no problem with such a law.
The only cost of implementation is the ink and paper of legislation and the emails to parole officers; it would be a done deal.
What do you say pit bull advocates? This is an extraordinary opportunity for a reasonable concession that best serves everyone, including pit bulls. You could campaign for it. Or is the market of pit bull buyers so heavy with felons that it would cut too much market share?
They won’t make any concessions – they are far too invested in the slippery slope theory. If pit bull owners were reasonable people who truly cared for pit bulls, they would have done something by now. At the very least they should admit there is a problem surrounding these dogs, work on educating current pit bull owners on what pit bull traits are, and deal with the overpopulation/mass killing of pit bulls in shelters. None of these things have been addressed with any serious by the MANY pit bull advocacy groups or general animal welfare groups that exist. The focus has been to fight BSL and encourage pit bull adoption as a way of dealing with overpopulation, or as they call it, popularity. No other group of breed owner reacts in this way to their breed’s issues. It’s a shame but the pit bull’s worst enemy is their own advocates.
Amen to the above.
None of these charges have anything to do with the mauling. It is interesting that these dogs were picked up by animal control in May(unregistered and unvaccinated) and the felon perp was able to get them back after paying a small fee.
As usual, the pit bull profilerating animal control reps don’t even have to explain themselves…..
Excuse me but fellons shouldn’t be allowed to own any dog! (Just in case they decide to create mean poodles instead of their pits.)