At a Glance
- Court
- Superior Court of the District of Columbia
- Case Type
- Sentencing
- Parties
- District of Columbia v. Anthony A. Fuller
- Jurisdiction
- District of Columbia
- Date
- 1996-05-13
- Status
- Sentenced
A Superior Court of the District of Columbia judge sentenced a man to three to 10 years in prison for directing his pit bull terrier to attack a 14-year-old girl in Northwest Washington, in a case that tested the legal boundaries of using an animal as a weapon and prompted new breed-specific legislation in the District.
Anthony A. Fuller, 23, of Northeast Washington, accepted responsibility for an attack in the Columbia Heights neighborhood that generated public outcry and led to the passage of a law requiring all pit bull terriers and Rottweilers to be muzzled when in public, according to the Washington Post [1]. Fuller had been arrested March 6 and pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in the incident, which occurred in the 1400 block of Euclid Street NW [1]. Court records show he had been arrested five times on drug or assault charges since 1991 [1].
Authorities said Fuller chased two teenage girls into a building on Feb. 19, ordered them to undress, and, when they refused, commanded the dog to attack by shouting an order to sic, at which point the leashed animal lunged forward [1]. Allison Judah, 14, was bitten twice on the left leg, while her friend, Tiara Dews, 13, avoided injury by jumping onto a stairwell [1]. Judah, who wore a long skirt to the sentencing to conceal bite wounds on her leg, had already undergone rabies shots and still faced cosmetic surgery [1].
Fuller argued at sentencing that he had been playing and joking and did not intend to harm anyone. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly was not persuaded [1]. Both victims attended the sentencing, hoping Fuller would receive the maximum 10-year term [1]. Fuller will be eligible for parole in two and a half years [1]. The case illustrates a broader prosecutorial theory, recognized by courts in multiple jurisdictions, that when a dog owner gives a command or otherwise encourages an animal to attack, courts may find the owner guilty of using the dog as a dangerous weapon to commit crimes such as assault [2].
The District's legislature responded to the Fuller incident and others by enacting the Pit Bull and Rottweiler Dangerous Dog Designation Emergency Amendment Act of 1996, which specifically identified both breeds as dangerous dogs [3]. The use of dogs as weapons had drawn increasing attention from law enforcement in the Washington area, with police and animal control officials documenting incidents in which dogs were used in place of firearms or knives to threaten and injure victims [4]. The Fuller sentencing stands as one of the District's first high-profile criminal convictions framing deliberate canine deployment as an aggravated assault, a legal theory that subsequent courts across the country have continued to refine.
References
[1] The Washington Post. (1996, May 14). Pit Bull Owner Sentenced in D.C. Attack. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1996/05/14/pit-bull-owner-sentenced-in-dc-attack/924bd6d5-d27d-4ecd-b89a-3a707c829644/
[2] Nolo. (2022, February 17). Criminal Penalties for Owners of Dangerous Dogs. https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/free-books/dog-book/chapter12-3.html
[3] FindLaw / D.C. Court of Appeals. (2005). McNeely v. United States. https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/dc-court-of-appeals/1147113.html
[4] The Washington Post. (1995, September 17). Vicious Dogs Put Bite Into Street Crime. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1995/09/17/vicious-dogs-put-bite-into-street-crime/50ec4445-6051-41a5-bbba-a5edafe502a1/