Owner of pit bulls that mauled man held on $80,000 bond after court hearing

A vicious attack by three pit bulls on a 41-year-old Columbus man 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 conduct 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. Represented by public defender Robin King, Nobles pleaded not guilty to the charges during a 2 p.m. Thursday hearing in Recorder’s Court. The charges were bound over to Muscogee State Court.

Judge Julius Hunter denied a motion from King to reduce the number of reckless conduct charges. Bonds totaling $80,000 was set on the seven charges, including $50,000 for one count charging Nobles for sending away a witness from the scene with the injured man.

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 detective Donald Kraus 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 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.

Kraus said the gate at Nobles’ home had half of it missing and the dogs were in the street charging people. There also were reports of previous attacks in the neighborhood. “One repeatedly had been attacked but refused to talk to us,” the detective said.

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