Jail for Derby dad-of-three whose dog mauled his younger brother to death

Wayne Stevens was 'partially-scalped' by the cross breed owned by older brother Gary

A Derby dad-of-three whose 8st dog mauled his younger brother to death has been jailed for four-and-a-half years. Derby Crown Court heard how Ace savaged 51-year-old Wayne Stevens, leaving him with horrific injuries all over his body which caused his death at the “untidy” house he shared with the dog’s owner Gary Stevens in Normanton.

The hearing was told how the “heavily intoxicated” 55-year-old defendant threatened to set the Cane Corso cross on police who had come to assist as he struggled to get his pet under control for almost an hour after he had dialled 999.

And he knew the animal had bitten before but had “misinterpreted the warning signs” the dog’s previous behaviour presented to others. Judge Shaun Smith KC said: “It was evident you had no control over the dog whatsoever.

“Your brother suffered multiple lacerations to the face, hands and legs. It seems likely your brother was brought to the ground and had his head and face mauled. He was partially-scalped from front to back, it was described as ‘a frenzied mauling’.

“You told the police the dog normally goes for the head and face ‘because that’s what these dogs do, they are biting dogs’. You said the dog had bitten a couple of people before but you did not report those incidents to the police.

“I am entirely satisfied you knew of the dangers this dog presented.”

Laura Pitman, prosecuting, said the attack took place in the early hours of April 22, 2023. She said: “At just before 6am the defendant called 999 to report that a dog had attacked a person at 135 Cameron Road. He was anxious and distressed then abusive. He was asked by the call operator what type of dog it was and he replied it was a poodle. That was a lie."

Miss Pitman said paramedics and police arrived at the address and Stevens arrived at the door "heavily intoxicated" and was unable to get the dog under control, despite the police telling him no member of the emergency services would enter until he had. She said despite this eventually one paramedic did bravely get inside and found the body of Wayne Stevens. She said: "It was not the poodle they expected, the defendant was holding a pic of raw bacon saying that was the only way to keep it happy.

“The paramedic found the deceased lying on the floor wedged up against a wall next to an open door that led upstairs, there was blood everywhere on the floor, the walls, the surrounding furniture and on the deceased's body. An initial examination showed Mr Stevens had many visible puncture marks and incredibly severe facial injuries. No pulse was found."

Miss Pitman said Stevens was abusive and "mocking" to the emergency services who showed fear of the dog as he struggled to get it under control. She said: "He was threatening to turn the dog on them and a number of officers armed with Tasers pointed it at the dog and then fired them which incapacitated it as they tried to drag it towards the police van. But one Taser barb came free and armed officers arrived and had no other option but to shoot the dog."

The prosecutor said in his interview, Stevens said he and his brother had been drinking in a pub in Allenton and then continued drinking when they got back to Cameron Road. She said: "He said he could not remember exactly what happened but he remembered the dog attacking his brother.

“He said the most likely trigger was that his brother was usually quite animated when he was speaking when he had been drinking using his arms and that might have been the trigger but he could not remember because he had been drinking. He said the dog had been given to him six-to-eight months earlier by a relative and had bitten Wayne before.

“He said the dog would normally go for the face and neck area because, in his words 'that's what these dogs do, it was a biting dog'. He said the dog would defecate in the house."

Miss Pitman said the dog was an “incredibly heavy” Cane Corso cross breed dog which weighed 50.6kg. Stevens, formerly of Cameron Road and now of Vicarage Road, MIckleover, previously pleaded guilty to a charge under the Dangerous Dogs Act of being the person in charge of a dog dangerously out of control causing injury resulting in death.

Tony Stanford, mitigating, said his client had taken the dog from his niece who was unable to look after it as she had five children in her home. He said: "She says 'If I knew Ace would have behaved this way I would never have given him to Gary. He had never behaved like this'.

“This was an awful tragedy but the dog was not used as a weapon, it was not a prohibited dog and he did not have that dog to intimidate people. He did not address the warning signs (previous biting episodes) because he misinterpreted them.

“He and his brother lived in the house together and he trusted Wayne enough to look after the dog. This is not a dog that got out and attacked someone in the street. Something happened that caused the dog to attack and we don't know what that is. His childhood was horrific, he was a battered child, on one occasion he had hot, boiling, water poured over him."

As well as the jail term, the judge also banned Stevens from owning a dog for life.