Law enforcement authorities in El Paso County have detained Laura Mendez Gonzalez, 51, after her two pit bulls were involved in a savage attack on a 60-year-old man in San Elizario, inflicting life-threatening wounds, as reported by KTSM. The El Paso County Sheriff's Office confirmed that the victim suffered severe injuries to his neck and limbs and was found unconscious due to significant blood loss, necessitating emergency care in an Intensive Care Unit.
Deputies informed that they were dispatched on August 26 to the scene of the attack near Saltillo and Guitar, where the dogs had apparently escaped from their enclosure in search of sustenance, according to KVIA. Gonzalez, a resident of Juarez, Mexico, reportedly kept the dogs at a house in San Elizario and visited them once a week, during such visits she provided food and water which, upon her absence, led to a situation where the dogs broke free, likely in an act of desperation for food and water detectives surmise she had neglected proper care and supervision of the animals leading to the egregious incident.
The El Paso County Sheriff's Office's investigators, in cooperation with Animal Control officers, managed to secure one of the dogs at the scene and subsequently identified Gonzalez as the owner and charged her with attack by dog resulting in serious bodily injury, with her bond being set at $25,000, a release from the Sheriff's Office stated, emphasizing their steadfast commitment to safeguarding the community and will continue to hold accountable those whose actions place others in danger.
After a search warrant was acquired, county detectives, in coordination with Animal Control, apprehended the second dog and effected the arrest of Gonzalez on Aug. 27, as she has now been placed into the El Paso County Detention Facility, CBS4 Local reported that the Sheriff's Office's investigation revealed the dogs had likely escaped through a broken chain-link fence and that Gonzalez resided in Ciudad Juárez, coming to the San Elizario residence only weekly which might suggest a systemic neglect of the dogs' needs such as the necessities of food and water being infrequently met by Gonzalez.
