01x24 - Pit Bull Attack

[bunniefuu]

I noticed the dog
started running

and then he charged at me,
my dog, and my cousins.

I'm yelling and screaming
for help.

No, no.

-Two of you have parents?
-Yep.

Do you think
they watch me?

Yeah, they watch you. [laughs]

So, you don't want to
embarrass yourself, right?

Let's be real careful here.

[narrator]
This is Judy Justice.

[dramatic music]

[narrator] Sharon Alston
is suing her neighbor

Christopher Marks
for vet bills

resulting from a dog fight.

[Kevin] Court, come to order.
All rise.

[dramatic music]

Have a seat, please.

[Kevin] Hello, Judge.

Case number 1035,
Alston versus Marks.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Miss Alston, you were not
a witness to this event.

-Is that correct?
-[Kayla] Correct.

It was your daughter
who was walking your dog?

Yes.

Your daughter here,
I assume.

[Kayla] Yes.

-[Judy] Is that you?
-Yes.

[Judy] Step up, please.

And your first name...

-Kayla Alston.
-[Judy] Kayla.

Kayla, do you remember
walking your dog?

You have a Miniature Pinscher,
your mom does.

It belongs to your mom?

-Yes.
-[Judy] It doesn't give me

a date in either
the complaint or the answer.

On what date in October
did this incident take place?

-It was October 1st.
-[Judy] Time of day?

It was around one or two p.m.

And you were taking
your dog, your mom's dog,

Miniature Pinscher,
out for a walk.

Were you with a boyfriend?

No, I was with my two cousins,
um, eight and five.

Were you taking the dog
out for a regular dog walk,

or were you going someplace?

No, I was taking him
on a regular...

on a regular walk
around the neighborhood.

Dog on leash?

-Yes.
-How far away from your house

is the defendant's house?

Like a minute.
It's right around the street.

How long have you
been living there?

About a year.

Have you ever seen
the defendant before?

No.

Had you ever seen
his dog before?

No.

Has the dog ever been
out in the yard that you heard?

-Yes.
-[Judy] I assume

you walk your dog regularly?

Yes. Um, I have heard him
barking a few times,

but he never did anything.

We just did a regular walk,
and that was it.

Did you see the dog
when you heard the dog bark?

I saw him run
across the fence, um,

but that was about it.

-[Judy] But inside?
-[Kayla] Yeah.

-[Judy] Not outside the fence?
-[Kayla] Yeah.

Your Pinscher,
how large is that dog?

He's about 14 pounds.

And what kind of dog
does the defendant have?

-Um, a pit bull.
-How old is your pit bull?

Callie is roughly five years old.

Have you had the dog
since a puppy?

No, I adopted her
when she was a year and a half.

-[Judy] From where?
-Uh, the Humane Society

in Alpharetta, Georgia.

And about how much
does she weigh?

Callie weighs about 65...

65 pounds.

Is she your only dog?

No, I have two dogs.

And what kind of dog
is the other one?

It's a mutt...

It's a pit bull mix
with a collie.

That's an odd combo.

Yeah. [laughs]

And how old is that dog?

About two years old,
going on two.

Were you home
when this incident occurred?

-Yes, ma'am.
-[Judy] And now, tell me first,

did you witness the incident?

-No, Your Honor.
-Who is this person?

-That is my brother.
-Does he live with you?

At the time he did.

How long had he been
living with you?

A year at the time.

And he was home
at one or two in the afternoon?

Yes, he was actually
outside the house,

right outside the house.

Just tell me...
about what time that day

did you let Callie out
into the backyard?

Callie, that's her main domain

-is the backyard, right...
-So, she's an outside dog?

Does she sleep
inside the house or out?

-Outside.
-[Judy] Where do you live?

Union City, Georgia.

Does Callie
ever come into the house?

Uh, occasionally,
here and there.

What I'm saying, daily,

does the dog
come into the house?

No, it's a, daily,
it's an outside dog.

If it's daily,
it's an outside dog,

-then it's a guard dog.
-Uh, you could say

-it is a guard dog.
-Well, it's a guard dog unless,

because the only contact
that it has with people

is if somebody goes
outside the house

to play with the dog,
to be with the dog,

to socialize with the dog,
to interact with the dog.

Otherwise, the dog
is outside by itself,

guarding the house.

-Or...
-[Judy] Sleeps outside,

eats outside,

does its business outside.
So far, okay.

It's just a dog outside. Yeah.

How large a property
do you have?

A acre and a half.

And how much of it is fenced?

Uh, more than half.

Besides the house,
everything's fenced.

The front yard is not,
but the whole backyard,

which is about a half an acre, is fenced.

Do you have a photograph
of your house?

-[Christopher] Yes.
-I'd like to take a look at it.

Would you like the front or...

-I'd like...
-[Christopher] ...the backyard?

Well, I'd like to see
where the fence is.

Okay.

I'll take a look
at all your pictures,

and then I'm going to get back
to the plaintiff.

These are all of the houses.

[Kevin] Here, Judge.

And that fence is about
seven feet tall, Your Honor.

[Judy] Hm-mm.

Okay, Kayla,
let's have the story.

One or two to the afternoon,
first of October...

[Kayla] Yes, my cousins
and I were walking,

and we went down
to turn to his street.

And as we kept on walking,

I noticed the dog
started to bark.

I think he heard
the chains on my dog.

[Judy] Don't tell me
what you think.

Okay. And he,
I heard him barking.

And as we kept walking closer,

I noticed the dog
started running across.

-And then I...
-[Judy] How could you see that?

There's a big fence.

But the fence has... um...

-Slats in it?
-[Kayla] Yes.

And you could see
through the slats?

-Yes.
-[Judy] Okay.

And then, I noticed that
he started jumping up and down,

and I saw his head
over the fence

as he kept jumping
up and down.

And then I noticed that he was
holding on to the fence,

um, with his face above it.

And then he flew over the fence

and charged at me,
my dog, and my cousins.

So, he charged to my dog,
but I didn't know if

he was going to charge at me
my cousins, or my dog.

So, I told my cousins

to go stand on the side
of the street.

And then, um, he ended up...

-[Kayla] ...charging at my dog.
-Where-where exactly were you?

Um, so his house
is at the corner.

And then there's the street

and then the other house
is on the side.

Well, but I'm looking
at his house,

there's a lot of green,
there's a lot of lawn

that belongs to the defendant,
before you get to the fence.

Right.

Was, what's your dog's name?

-Chico.
-[Judy] Chico.

Was Chico on the grass?

No, we were still in, um,

about in the middle
of the street.

[Judy] You mean,
on the sidewalk.

No, um,
he doesn't have a sidewalk.

It's just his grass,
and then the street.

-[Judy] Okay.
-So, he was right

-in the middle of the street.
-Okay.

And then, um, so his dog
charged at my dog,

and then, um, I'm yelling
and screaming for help.

And I'm pulling
my dog's leash

because I didn't know,
I didn't want to pick up my dog

and I didn't want
the pit bull to bite me

if I did pick up my dog.

So, I was pulling the leash
and screaming out for help.

And then, at that point,

the neighbor from
across the street

heard me yelling, and then
he came all the way over.

And that person
was able to separate the dogs?

-Yes, it's...
-[Judy] How did he do that?

-You saw him do that?
-[Kayla] Yes.

Um, he stood in front of
the dog and my dog,

and tried to, um, block them.

Was your dog attacked yet?

Yes, that's when,
um, he had already bit him.

-Okay.
-[Kayla] And then I'm still

trying to pull the leash
and separate them.

Well, now he's separated

because of the neighbor
stood in between them.

Right, but he,
the pit bull,

went between his legs

because he didn't want
to touch the pit bull either,

because he didn't want him
to bite him.

[Christopher laughs]

So, the pit bull
kept running around his legs,

and then he finally got a grip
around his neck.

And then he told me
to take my dog and myself

and go back home
and take him home.

Was there ever a time
when you dropped the leash?

-No.
-Before the attack?

-No.
-Did you see, at any time,

your dog burrowing
under the fence,

and then burrowing back?

No, ma'am.

At any time, did you go
on the defendant's property

to retrieve your dog?

-No, ma'am.
-Okay, you're up.

[dramatic music]

Two of you have parents?

-Yeah.
-Do you think they watch me?

No, they don't like you.

[Christopher]
No, they watch. [laughs]

[laughs]

So, you don't want to
embarrass yourself, right?

[dramatic music]

[narrator] Sharon Alston
claims her neighbor

Christopher Marks
owes for vet bills

after Christopher's pit bull
attacked her dog.

Tell me your last name.

Marks. M-A-R-K-S.

Mr. Marks, your brother
says that you were outside,

and you witnessed this event?

Where were you?

I was in my car
in a phone interview.

In your car.
Where was your car?

It's like parked,
like, right by the fence,

but it's facing
a different direction.

So, you're looking
away from the fence.

I'm looking...
the fence...

the fence line is like
right beside where my car is.

And then the front of the fence
is on the, facing the other street.

Would you give Mr. Marks a pen,

tell him to look
through those pictures

that his brother just gave me.

And I want you to mark
on those pictures

where exactly your car was.

And you're in the car,
talking on the phone.

-[Jeremy] Yep.
-[Judy] Okay, now, Kevin,

I'd like you to give

that picture and the pen
to Kayla.

And I want you to see, Kayla,

if you can see exactly
where you were with the dog.

It was on...

[Judy] And if it's not there,
he has other pictures.

Yes.
Can I see another picture?

Now, Kevin,
I'd like to see both.

Okay. Go ahead.
You were on the phone...?

Yes, I was
on the phone...

[Judy] Did you hear the dog,

-your brother's dog, bark?
-[Jeremy] I-I heard...

First, I was in my car
on the phone,

and I can see a girl
walking down the street

and two little boys.

So, you know, I'm-I'm not
thinking nothin' of it.

I'm just still doing

-my phone interview.
-[Judy] Okay.

Were they coming towards you?

Yeah, they was
coming towards me.

They were coming towards you.

Exercise day.

I want you to have him put down

where you saw them
for the first time.

So, they was back here.

[Judy] Great.
Thank you very much.

Thanks, Kevin.

Okay, so they were,
as she says,

walking in the middle
of the street.

Walking in the middle.

[Judy] Go ahead.

Okay, as they was
walking in the middle...

Care... let's be careful here.

Jeremy, let's be
real careful here.

So, the first time
you saw Kayla,

she was walking
with the two boys,

as she said, in the middle
of the street.

Yes.

[Judy] Then I don't care what
you wrote here in the answer.

I want you to tell me
what happened.

Okay, as I'm seeing them...

Just a second.
Two of you have parents?

-Yep.
-Do you think they watch me?

No, they don't like you.

[Christopher]
No. They watch. [laughs]

[laugh]

Of course they do.

So, you don't want to
embarrass yourself, right?

No. [laughs]

So, you're gonna
tell me exactly what it is

-that happened on that day.
-Your Honor.

And understanding
that we're not talking about

anybody doing anything
purposefully, right.

You and your brother seem
like two nice young men.

-[Judy] Let's have it.
-[Jeremy] All right.

As I'm in my car
and I'm in a phone interview,

I can see, I'm looking
in my rearview mirror,

you know, I can see that
the girl and her two cousins

are, you know,
like she was saying,

walking down the street.

Okay, so they were
coming towards you,

but you-you were looking
in the rearview mirror?

[Jeremy] Yes.

I assume that you were
looking in the rearview mirror

because if you're
on an interview,

you would be concentrating...

-[Judy] ...on the phone.
-Concentrating.

Right. So, I assume that something
caught your attention.

So, you must have heard
the dog barking, your dog?

Yes, I can...
I can see the dog walking.

Back and forth.

-[Jeremy] Yes.
-And barking?

[Jeremy] Barking.

But I can see them as I'm
looking at them from a distance,

they didn't, they had a leash,
but they were just lettin'

the dog walk itself,
basically. So...

[Judy] In the middle
of the street?

In the middle of the street.

Okay. And you saw all that
while you're, you know,

looking backwards towards them
while on an interview.

-[Jeremy] Yeah.
-So, the dog was on a leash,

but they were letting

-the leash drag on the filthy...
-By itself.

Okay, go ahead.

[Jeremy]
And as the dog, he can...

he can hear other dogs
up in the backyard,

-near the fence. It dashed...
-[Judy] What other...?

-[Jeremy] Over to the fence.
-What other dogs?

My brother's dogs.

So, both of them
were in the back?

Yes, both of them
is in the back.

Is the Collie mix puppy
kept outside as well?

Yes.

[Judy] All the time?

-Yes.
-Never comes inside?

Never.

Did they have
a-a dog house outside?

-Yes.
-So, you saw both dogs?

Well, you heard both dogs.

-[Jeremy] I heard both.
-And you could see them.

I can see them because
I'm near the fence line,

so I can see... it's like holes
in-in between it, so I can see...

-[Judy] Right.
-[Jeremy]...in back there.

That's what Kayla said.
And then what did you see?

As the dog
was dashing towards the fence,

it was basically aggressive.

The dogs, you know, they just started
just going back and forth,

back and forth.

The dog was using the bathroom
on the... on the grass.

As the dog ran back to the front
of the fence, I, uh,

I don't know, it just happened
to get under the fence.

I don't know how it did it.

You can see nothin'
but the dog just scuffling.

I can hear him, but you're not
gonna see just through there.

Next thing, you know,
the dog is from under the fence,

and they take off running,

the girl and the boys
take off running.

Running in what direction?

Back towards
the other side of the street.

-You mean, away from the dog?
-[Jeremy] From where the front

of the fence is, back towards
their way they came from.

So, they, in effect,
left the dog in your back...

No, they picked the dog up,

-and took off...
-[Judy] Well, how did they...

how did they get the dog
back up?

The dog just ran back up
under the fence,

and they was coming
onto the grass.

[Judy] Well, coming
onto the grass.

How did the dog...?

First you told me that the dog
was running back and forth.

Then it got under the fence.

Yes.

And you said
they went running away

in the opposite direction.
Don't... don't help him.

Well, were they running
towards the dog,

-or away from him?
-[Jeremy] Well, no...

they was running towards the dog
first to get their dog.

Then they started running
the, uh, uh...

Oh, well,
you left that part out.

You said,
soon as it went under,

they ran back in the direction
that they came from,

leaving the...
that's why I said,

leaving their dog
behind the fence?

No, no.

So, they went onto the grass.

Onto the grass.

And by that time,
what you're telling me is

their dog injured because
the dog was injured, right?

Did you get out of your car?

No, I was still...

[Judy] No, no, no.

When you've heard
all this commotion

and what you said you saw was,

their dog running up,
getting under the fence.

You know that your brother
has two large dogs,

you know this is a smaller dog.
And you heard scuffle.

At what point did you get
out of the car?

I never got out the car.

-I was in the...
-[Judy laughs loudly]

[Jeremy laughs]
I was in the interview.

So, you know, I can't just
leave my phone interview

just to go to a dog fight.

[chuckles]

Really? Your mother's
gonna be thrilled with you.

[Jeremy laughs]

-[Christopher] Good job.
-For a lot of reasons.

-[Jeremy nervous laugh]
-For a lot of reasons.

Give me the reason
that you're in your car?

It was a job interview

that I was trying to get,
you know.

No, no, no, I don't know.

This is not going to get easier.
It's going to get harder.

[dramatic music]

[narrator] Sharon Alston
says her neighbor

Christopher Marks

is responsible
for injuries her dog received

from Christopher's pit bull.

You want to
tell me a reason

that I'm going to believe

that you're sitting
in a job interview,

something that you clearly want,

outside in your car
rather than inside

where there are no dogs,
because your dogs are outside.

Give me the reason
that you're in your car.

I had just made it home
from going to the store.

And I had a phone interview.

They was just calling me
as I'm pulling up.

And then, that's why
I was basically in my car.

[laughs] Was this a preset
job interview, and with whom?

It was a job interview

that I was trying to get,
you know.

No, no, no,
I don't know.

This is not going to get easier.
It's going to get harder.

With whom was the job interview,

because your brother says
he got the job?

It's basically PetSmart.
So, it's like...

No, no, no. It's basically,
it can't be basically PetSmart.

[Jeremy] It is, it is.

-It is a temp agency...
-[Judy] Shhh.

Now, had you
applied for the job?

[Jeremy] I had.

They said they was gonna call me
within a certain timeframe.

And that's when
they mentioned to call me.

So, you had no specific
time for the interview?

-No.
-[Judy] So, as you were

pulling up,
you were on the phone

with PetSmart,
people who love animals.

It was the temp agency

-with PetSmart.
-[Judy] Just a...

just a second.
So, it wasn't PetSmart.

It was for an agency,

you would apply to
an employment agency

that works for
a lot of people, right?

Yes.

And that phone call
could have been taken

in five minutes, in ten minutes,
that doesn't matter.

It's a temp agency.

You didn't have an appointment
with somebody at an interview.

I'm just trying to figure out

why somebody who hears
a major kerfuffle outside

with a pit bull,
a pit bull mix and a small dog,

doesn't get out of his car

when he sees the small dog
burrowing under a fence.

I don't understand
a person like that, actually,

who doesn't get out of their car
and see if they can help.

You see a girl
and two little boys,

and you just stayed in the car?

Well, I seen the dog under.

I never seen my-my
brother's dog get out.

But you told me
you heard and saw

the dogs going back and forth

-when...
-[Jeremy] Yes.

[Judy] ...her dog
was relieving itself...

when her dog was relieving
itself on the grass.

So, you knew
that there was trouble,

that the dogs were agitated,
because you just told me

you saw them
running back and forth.

-Yes.
-[Judy] And barking.

But they was
in the backyard.

But then you just told me you saw,

with your own eyes, her dog
burrowing under the fence.

No, I didn't say
burrowed under the fence.

I said I don't know how the dog
got under the fence.

Well, then you didn't see.

[Jeremy] From the side of fence,

I can see the dog
inside the fence.

You can't see the dog
inside the fence, sir,

unless you saw the dog
get inside the fence.

My eyes wouldn't... would be
riveted if I saw that.

Sit down.
Your mother's embarrassed.

Sit down.

[laughs] Okay.

Can I see
the vet bills, please?

And pictures of the dog.

You're the older brother?

-Yes, ma'am.
-[Judy] Yeah.

Your Honor,
my fence is seven feet tall.

[Judy] Mm-mm.

Your brother's a fibber.

I guess my dog is Air Bud.

Your brother's a fibber.

No.

He didn't see
what he says he saw.

Kayla, when you went
and retrieved the dog,

did you carry the dog home,
or did it walk home?

[Kayla] I carried him.

Did you ever see
the injury to the dog, sir?

Uh, yes,
when she sent the picture.

I don't know how that injury
came about though,

-I mean...
-[Judy] Just a second.

[Christopher] He
scurried under the fence,

so it could have been hidden...

I don't believe that.

I don't believe that
that's true.

-And my dog got a bit on its ear.
-[Judy] Shh, shh, just a second.

You say this is off from
what your brother tells you.

"At first the fence was
able to keep their dog away,

but their dog breached the fence
by skirting underneath."

-[Christopher] Mm-mm.
-Something he didn't see,

because he says he didn't see.

He doesn't know how
this 14-pound dog

breached the seven-foot fence.

"Their dog nipped Callie
on the ear."

That he certainly didn't see

because he said
he didn't see anything

that happened besides the fence,
"and caused the fight."

Well, you don't know that
because you weren't there

and he... and he didn't see it.

If it goes under the fence,
it caused the fight.

-[Judy] No. No, no, no, sir.
-He's trespassing.

[Judy] No, what
you're telling me,

what you say here is, "Their dog
nipped Callie on the ear

and caused the fight, but my dog
was not the aggressor."

-Correct.
-[Judy] Well, I don't know that.

And actually,
I don't believe him.

So, I think that your dog
actually did breach the fence.

And I think that her dog

-[Judy] was probably on...
-[Christopher] How?

I don't answer
your question, sir.

I'm here to ask questions. That's my job.

How, just as I don't know

from the photographs
that you sent me

how their dog
breached the fence,

and you have no witness.

And I don't think
he even saw what he saw,

because if I were
on a job interview [laughs],

a job interview
with a temp agency,

I wouldn't be looking
in my rearview mirror.

I would probably be
in the house.

Let me take this call

-in the house.
-I was working in the house.

That's why. So I'm,
I have my phone calls going on

and things of that nature
in the house.

So, he was respecting me.

I want to tell you
something.

That is so ridiculous,
because that's not what he said.

I want... that's so ridiculous

-[Judy] because that...
-[Christopher] But I'm telling

-[Christopher] you, the nature...
-Listen, you have to listen.

You have to listen
to what your brother said.

Your brother didn't say he took
the call as a courtesy to you

because you were talking
in the house.

He said he took the call

because he was just
driving up to the house

from going to the store.

And because the call came,

and he had been waiting
for the call,

he took the call in the car.

He said nothing about,
it's quieter in the car

than it is outside.

Don't be ridiculous, Mr. Marks.
You also look foolish.

-There's times where...
-[Judy] Okay.

...he's coming
to the house on the phone

and I'm not working,
and that's perfectly fine.

He knew I was working.

He would have came in the house
on the phone on his interview

if that wasn't the case.

You sound ridiculous.

You're speculating.
This is our house,

-so we know how it works.
-[Judy] Just a second.

I don't deal
in speculation, sir.

I deal in meat and potatoes.
This is the dog's injury.

She says 'cause she was there,
and she saw it,

that your dog jumped
and jumped and jumped,

and finally got its paws
over the fence,

its face over the fence,
and was over the fence.

Her dog, I guarantee,
was on the grass,

was on your grass.

Trespassing.

You had the fence there

because you were trying
to contain your dog.

That's the purpose.
Don't answer me.

That's not a question.

There's no question
that her dog agitated your dog

by being on your grass.
There's no question there.

There's also no question
that your dog

was aggressive enough
to breach the fence,

and strong enough
to breach the fence,

and you owe her
for the vet bills.

So, my dog jumped the fence...

Oh, no, no,
I told you I don't.

I told you I don't answer questions.
I told you. I told you.

I don't answer questions.

-I listen to what sounds...
-It's just logic. It's just logic.

I listen to what,
I listen to what is before me,

and what sounds common sense
because very often,

you have to make
a determination.

In this case, I have to
make a determination

based upon who's telling the truth.

That's it.

Because I have two
different versions.

One says your dog
was aggressive,

breached the fence,
and injured her dog.

Your brother says no,
that's not true,

the dog somehow borrowed
under the fence

which he didn't see.
That's what he said.

He didn't see how the dog
got under the fence,

but somehow got under the fence,
was attacked...

Well, I have evidence

to show how he got
under the fence.

Just a second.
No, that's speculation, sir.

So, we're both
speculating there. [laughs]

No, my friend.

As nice a smile as you have,
that's not speculation.

This is truth telling.

And I have to make a judgment,

which of these two people
is telling the truth.

And in this case,
since he didn't see

what he says he saw
and his story to me...

By the way,
did you ever see him

that day on October 1st?

No, not the whole day.

Not the whole day, so,
and he never got out of his car.

Okay. [sighs] Yeah.

Judgment for the plaintiff
in the amount of 3,000 dollars.

We're finished.
Thank you very much.

[Kevin] Court adjourned.

[dramatic music]

I think she just
had a-a notion in her head

that all pit bulls are bad.

He jumped all the way
over that fence.

My dog's an emotional support animal,

and it never had any altercation
with any dog ever.

If the neighbor
didn't come to help,

my dog possibly
could have been k*lled.

It came onto my property,

trespassed, and scurried
under the fence.

There's no way that
my dog could have even did that.

Like I said, we were
in the middle of the street.

If a dog go up under a fence,
it's gonna fight.

He just needed to do
the right thing

and pay the bill.

[Sarah] You have two people

that seem to be
equally credible.

How do you make
that determination

at the end of the day
of who to believe?

In this case,
I really didn't believe the fact

that the defendant's brother
was sitting in the car.

It didn't make sense to me
that somebody who's a nice guy,

and he seemed to be a nice guy,

would hear
that kind of commotion

and not get out of his car.

His story didn't
make sense to me.

And if something
doesn't make sense,

it's usually not true.

Could I be wrong?
Hmm, possibility.

But that story just didn't
make sense to me.

That's how.

[narrator] Want justice?



[dramatic music]