Man sentenced to prison for siccing pit bull on woman

By Ty Tagami

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

An Atlanta man will spend two years in prison after admitting he sicced his pit bulls on a neighbor's puppies. He was also charged with commanding one of the dogs to attack a neighbor.

The attacking dogs killed an 8-month-old Shepherd mix.

Their owner, Wayde Clark, 68, of Atlanta, pleaded guilty Tuesday to aggravated cruelty to animals, aggravated assault, criminal trespass and public drunkenness, according to the Fulton County District Attorney's Office.

The attack occurred May 29 when Clark entered a neighbor's yard on Spring Garden Drive in southwest Atlanta, said Yvette Brown, a spokeswoman for District Attorney Paul Howard.

Clark, who was intoxicated, brought his two pit bulls with him into the yard. They attacked a Labrador mix and mauled a 22-pound Shepherd mix named Crackerjack, killing the puppy.

When a neighbor tried to intervene, Clark commanded one of his dogs to attack her, Brown said. The neighbor made it home safely and called 911. Fulton Animal Control took the pit bulls and destroyed one of them after deciding it was dangerous.

Clark's guilty plea came a day after the jury was selected for his jury trial. Superior Court Judge Henry Newkirk sentenced him to serve 10 years, eight of them on probation and the balance in prison.