Freddy Garcia was walking to a convenience store in Fresno on July 18 when he was fatally attacked by a pack of dogs, the sheriff’s office said Friday.
Samuel Cartwright, 47, who owned all seven dogs, was arrested and charged in connection with the injury, the sheriff’s office said. It is unclear if Cartwright has an attorney at this time. CNN has contacted the district attorney’s office for more information.
“All seven dogs — which are pit bull mixes — were seized by a sheriff’s deputy and animal control,” the sheriff’s office added.
Cartwright was booked into the county jail Thursday and charged with “attack by a dog resulting in death,” a second-degree felony, according to jail records. His bond is set at $100,000. Before he was arrested, CNN affiliate KTRK spoke with Cartwright, who said the dogs did not belong to him and that he called animal control as soon as he spotted them on his property.
“There are 20 dogs around right now. If you drive down that back street, there will be 20 loose dogs running around,” he said. “People just throw them out here. Dogs go wherever they find food.”
Garcia’s granddaughter, Yvonne Fajardo, mourned her grandfather in an interview with KTRK.
“He was young. He was full of life. She loved to dance. He loved to sing. He was really joyful,” Fajardo said in Spanish. “We’ll get together on the weekend and enjoy each other’s company. Now that he’s not here, it won’t be the same.”
Sheriff Eric Fagan said at a news conference Tuesday that Garcia did nothing to provoke the animals.
“He was walking down the street. He wasn’t in anybody’s yard, he was walking towards the store when he was attacked,” he said. “He had nothing in his hands. The dogs just attacked him for no reason and without any provocation.”
CNN’s Eric Levenson contributed to this report.
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