Man accused of sending pit bull after deputy leaves jail after paying $500
The man accused of sending his pit bull after a Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office deputy was out of jail Wednesday morning after paying $500, according to investigators.
David Lyle
Courtesy of WCSO
David Richmond Lyle, 22, has been charged with two counts of assaulting, resisting or obstructing a police officer and a misdemeanor charge of assault and battery on someone with whom he has a child, according to court records. Sgt. Geoffrey Fox said Lyle paid his 10 percent of his $5,000 bond and was no longer in jail Wednesday.
According to police, Lyle and his girlfriend were having an argument when deputies were dispatched at 9:15 p.m. Sunday to a home in the 500 block of Pinewood Avenue. The mother of Lyle’s girlfriend, who made the 911 call, warned police Lyle may send the dogs after deputies who were responding to the incident, Fox said.
There were two dogs at the home when deputies arrived, finding Lyle and his girlfriend having a loud argument in the backyard of the home. Lyle was holding the child in one arm while holding one pit bull between his legs by the scruff of its neck with his other hand, according to deputies. His girlfriend put the other dog inside, but Lyle allegedly refused to let go of the dog.
When deputies made their way inside a gate to intervene in the argument, Lyle allegedly released the dog and pushed it toward the deputies. One of the two deputies managed to get back outside the fence, but the other wasn’t so lucky.
Fox said the pit bull bit through the deputy’s work boot and punctured the skin on his foot. When the dog released its bite, the deputy scrambled back out of the gate and waited with his partner for more deputies to arrive on the scene.
Eventually, Lyle put the dog inside and gave up the child, allowing himself to be placed under arrest. He was arraigned at the Washtenaw County Jail on Tuesday.
Each felony charge of assaulting, resisting or obstructing a police officer carries a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison or a fine of $20,000. The misdemeanor assault and battery charge carries up to 93 days in jail and a $500 fine.
Lyle is scheduled to be back in court for a preliminary exam at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, according to court records.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
Sue
Fri, Aug 31, 2012 : 5:01 p.m.
Nice, now his girlfriend's mother has to watch her back. He should have had to stay in jail until his hearing, and sentencing, no bond whatsoever should have been set. Dumb judge.
RJA
Thu, Aug 30, 2012 : 2:43 a.m.
The Officer should have shot he dog. At last his girlfriend had some smarts. Now I hope she leaves with the child.
jns131
Thu, Aug 30, 2012 : 2 p.m.
Agreed and nope, she will stay if she has no where else to go. Sad reality.
nickcarraweigh
Wed, Aug 29, 2012 : 10:02 p.m.
So what about the dog? Is it lurking even as we speak?
jns131
Thu, Aug 30, 2012 : 1:58 p.m.
I have always heard that if a dog attacks it is taken away and put down. Was this animal put down? I too am very shocked that this perp is getting less of a sentence for having his property attack a police officer, sheriff or MSP. Guy needs to loose his dogs with no chance of ever getting to adopt another.
greg, too
Thu, Aug 30, 2012 : 3:49 a.m.
It should be taken away from the family and retrained. The dog only did what it was taught to do by this suck person. The dog can be retrained by someone who will actually take care of him/her.
lefty48197
Wed, Aug 29, 2012 : 9:56 p.m.
I'm sure you're right. Judges stop being lenient when they become victims.
lefty48197
Wed, Aug 29, 2012 : 9:54 p.m.
Lucky dog! I would have pounded it with lead and then I would have eyeballed the perp.
Cash
Wed, Aug 29, 2012 : 8 p.m.
Prosecutor: Please ask for a higher bond. The man is danger to the community. I'll bet if he set that pit bull after the JUDGE he'd have a higher bond.
Cash
Wed, Aug 29, 2012 : 10:58 p.m.
Greg too....Agreed. Like I said, if that pit bull was sent after the JUDGE, the guy would be locked up tight.
greg, too
Wed, Aug 29, 2012 : 8:51 p.m.
5k for a guy who set a dog after a cop? Any dog that is trained to or abused by their owner can kill. So why was this not deemed to be a more major assault? It sounds like he used a weapon (the dog) to try and do as much bodily harm as possible.
pvitaly
Wed, Aug 29, 2012 : 7:39 p.m.
I am surprised he didn't shoot the dog when it attacked him.
jcj
Wed, Aug 29, 2012 : 5:36 p.m.
I am less worried about pit bulls ( And I have no use for them) than I am the type of person that would own one!
bobslowson
Wed, Aug 29, 2012 : 6:16 p.m.
Agreed! It's more the owner and not the breed in a lot of cases
rs
Wed, Aug 29, 2012 : 4:56 p.m.
I'm sure that $500 will keep him around town for his felony trials.
Ignatz
Wed, Aug 29, 2012 : 4:04 p.m.
Obviously these dogs have no qualms about biting us bipeds. Why is he exposing this child to what would seem to be an imminent attack?
Billy Bob Schwartz
Wed, Aug 29, 2012 : 3:58 p.m.
Deputy: Draw, aim, and fire. Isn't it interesting that this is another pit bull story? They're not vicious. They absolutely love (the) people (who feed them. Everyone else is kibble.) Okay, now let's start up the "Why are you singling out pit bulls again?" thing. Guns don't kill. People with guns kill. And yet, you don't have to have a person aiming and pulling the trigger on a pit bull. Enough is enough.
eyeonthenews
Wed, Aug 29, 2012 : 5:40 p.m.
I happen to own a Pitbull and know their nature. For hundreds of years they were breed to fight only dogs or other animals. It's the thugs of this world today that have taken these dogs and are now training and breeding them to attack people. In the past Pitbulls were culled/killed if they showed aggression towards people and aggressiveness towards people was bread out of them. In a Pitbull that has been bred and raised properly they show no aggression towards humans. While this dog did attack the deputies it was acting on it's owner's command and for that reason this man should have his dog(s) taken from him and no longer be allowed to own a dog. Of any kind! It's people like him that are ruining this breed and giving them a bad reputation for their owner's illegal purposes.