His family considers him a hero, but authorities disagree. Brent M. Webster, 28, of Whitehall, was in jail last night charged in the fatal stabbing of a pit bull that had been blamed in an attack on a 6-year-old girl.
The stabbing occurred at 4:15 a.m. Friday at 4227 Rickenbacker Ave., Apt. 625, a town house belonging to Tommy Carson, the dog�s owner, Whitehall Police Officer Jerry Knight said.
Robin Roark lost part of her nose when she was bitten in the face last year. Robin�s mother, Tonya Roark, said Webster is her longtime boyfriend.
"She was cut up real bad," Roark said of her daughter. "It was April 15. I�ll never forget that night. She had plastic surgery and she still needs more."
Carson and Roark are divorced and have a son together, she said.
After the attack, which occurred at a relative�s house, the dog was removed from a 14-day quarantine by Carson�s current wife, Roark said.
Despite the dispute over the dog, Webster and Carson got along until Friday, she said.
Police said Webster visited the town house and went upstairs, where he noticed the dog, Sadie, lying on the floor. When he realized she was the same dog that had attacked Robin, Webster pulled a knife and stabbed the animal, breaking the knife handle and leaving the blade in the flesh, Knight said.
Then, Carson�s son held Webster while Carson went next door and called police.
Sadie was taken to an animal hospital, but could not be revived.
Webster was arrested and charged in Whitehall Mayor�s Court with killing or injuring an animal, a first-degree misdemeanor, and with menacing, a fourth-degree misdemeanor. The case is scheduled to go to trial Feb. 2, Knight said.
Webster was in the Jackson Pike jail last night, being held on $1,250 bond, a Franklin County deputy sheriff said.
"We can�t afford to get him out," Roark said.
If Webster does not make bail he will appear in court Thursday, Knight said.
Webster was charged in county Municipal Court the week before on an unrelated charge of obstruction of justice, court records show. He is accused of giving false information to Whitehall police on the whereabouts of an acquaintance.
"Webster is a hero", his cousin Brandon Blevins said, because the dog should have been euthanized after it attacked Robin.
"She said she ain�t got nightmares now that the dog is dead," said Blevins, 19. "It could have attacked another kid."
According to sources, the dog was in the process gving birth to puppies when the child attempted to play with them, resulting in the attack. Neighborhood MapFor more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.
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