Police: Man left beside road nearly two hours after three pit bulls mauled him

A vicious attack by three pit bulls on a 41-year-old Columbus man on Aug. 11 has led to charges against the dogs’ owner, Columbus police said.

Deaunte Nobles, 33, of Columbus was charged Wednesday with seven counts of reckless conducts at the Muscogee County Jail where he has been held since Aug. 16. He was arrested on possession of marijuana and drug-related objects after a search warrant was executed at a home on Hale Drive. Nobles pleaded not guilty to the charges during a 2 p.m. hearing Thursday in Recorder’s Court. The charges were bound over to Muscogee state court.

Police and a relative said Dudley Willis was attacked about 1 a.m. on Earline Avenue at 38th Street as he walked home from buying cigarettes at the Marathon station on Veterans Parkway. After learning his dogs had attacked the victim, Nobles sent away a witness and said he would call 911 but failed to do so, police said.

The witness who was at the scene earlier returned nearly two hours later and found the bloodied victim still lying beside the roadway.

Alycia Willis, the victim’s sister, said the dogs attacked her brother and tore him up pretty bad. “The guy who owned the dogs got the dogs off of him and left him laying out there, “ she said.

The attack led to the amputation of both of Dudley’s arms at Piedmont Columbus Regional’s midtown campus. They were mangled during the attack and surgery was required to save his life, she said.

During the investigation to take control of the dogs, police said Animal Control attempted to collect the dogs for quarantine but was hindered by Nobles who is accused of hiding the dogs at another location.

Police said the dogs had a history of aggressive behavior and weren’t properly contained before the attack.

This story was originally published August 30, 2018 at 12:00 AM.