GREENVILLE —
A Hunt County man has been placed on probation after pleading guilty to a charge filed after he allegedly left his son alone with a pit bull dog that attacked the child.
A police officer had to shoot the dog after it allegedly also attacked another officer and a paramedic.
Brandon Lee Rhode, 21, of West Tawakoni, entered the plea during a hearing Tuesday in the 354th District Court to one count of abandoning/endangering a child. Under a plea bargain arrangement, Rhode was placed on three years of deferred adjudication probation, with 150 hours of community service. Rhode was also prohibited from owning any dogs during the probationary period.
According to a criminal complaint, Rhode left his 10 year-old son at the residence on Lone Eagle Drive in West Tawakoni on June 19. The son said he approached the dog, which broke its chain and attacked and bit the boy, who ran to a neighbor’s house and called 911.
A West Tawakoni Police Department officer arrived on the scene and was also attacked by the pit bull. The officer said he used his Taser on the dog, which was not effective. The pit bull then bit a paramedic with American Medical Response who had arrived on the scene to treat the child. A second West Tawakoni Police officer then shot the dog twice.
Deferred adjudication probation carries no finding of guilt, although those defendants who are found to have violated a deferred probation are subject to being sentenced to the maximum punishment.
Rhode was facing a maximum sentence of up to two years in a state jail on the charge.
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