Tyrese Gibson wanted after his dogs allegedly killed another dog in Buckhead
Each afternoon, Harrison Parker’s 5-year-old Cavalier King Charles spaniel would act like a statue in the driveway of their Buckhead home as he waited patiently for his owner to grab the mail. They were just like father and son, with the 31-year-old raising his pup, Henry, to help with loneliness during the coronavirus pandemic.
Now, Parker is left haunted and wondering how his shy and slightly mischievous 30-pound dog could have been mauled in front of the home by four 100-pound-plus Cane Corsos this month. Or how those large dogs managed to escape from the Buckhead mansion of actor Tyrese Gibson in what authorities said was the latest instance of his canines getting loose in the neighborhood.
“(Henry) was always a little afraid of other dogs. It took him a second to warm up,” Parker told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday night. “So, the fact that he was murdered by a pack of four ginormous dogs is just, it’s the worst thing imaginable for him. I can’t imagine the fear he felt in the dark as they crushed him. It really haunts me every day.”
Gibson, 46, a Grammy Award-nominated R&B singer and an actor best known for his roles in the “Fast and Furious” and “Transformers” film series, is wanted by police and facing a cruelty to animals charge in connection with the Sept. 18 attack on Woodhaven Road, authorities said.
The fatal incident was the culmination of a series of negligence by Gibson in recent months at his mansion at 3605 Tuxedo Court, with multiple calls about his dogs running loose, Capt. Nicole Dwyer with Fulton County Police Animal Services said.
According to a police report, the events started April 20, when a caller reported that three adult Cane Corsos and nine Cane Corso puppies were running about. Five days later, animal control spoke with Gibson and told him he would need to have a permit through the Department of Agriculture since he had more than 10 dogs, authorities said.
In a video posted Sept. 6 on the YouTube channel Dope Boy TV titled, “Tyrese Unleashes His Guard Dogs: Bite Their Ankles Off!” four Cane Corso dogs are seen running around in the backyard, with Gibson telling them that “if anyone shows up I want you to bite their (expletive) ankles off ... and leave them at the front door for dad,” according to the report.
The report stated there were three more complaints and instances of Cane Corsos running loose that month. On Sept. 16, just two days before the fatal attack, an animal control officer went to Gibson’s residence to cite him, but no one was home. The cruelty to animals charge is a misdemeanor.
“It shows a pattern of negligence on his part. If you’re going to have large dogs, you need to have proper fencing and make sure you know where your dogs are at all times,” Dwyer told the AJC. “It could have been a child, and our goal is to keep the community safe.”
On the night of the attack, Henry was doing his usual pawing at the door for some fresh air, so Parker let him out. About five minutes later, he went to bring Henry back inside but found him dead in the driveway near the front door. According to the report, Henry was covered in slobber from “head to toe,” so Parker took him to an animal hospital and later buried him in the backyard next to his previous dog, an English Setter who died years ago.
But things didn’t get easier that night. With Parker’s permission, an officer dug up Henry to document the injuries, which included broken ribs, internal bleeding and puncture marks on the dog’s stomach, the report stated.
Parker said Henry was the first dog he had raised, starting as a puppy. They were very attached, with Henry always making sure to hop in Parker’s lap during trips in his car or while at the dog park. Other family members who knew the friendly pup were also in shock, including Parker’s mother, whom he takes care of at their Buckhead home.
“He’s devastated. He doesn’t have any children, and Henry, pretty much, was his child,” Dwyer said of Parker. “On scene that night, he was just bawling his eyes out. So he’s still very upset.”
Four days after the attack, officers talked on the phone with Gibson and tried to get him to surrender the four Cane Corsos to animal control, but he refused and said he would “figure out” the situation in a few days, the report stated. He also “admitted that he believes his dogs killed Henry” and knew it had been “an ongoing issue over the past few months with his dogs getting out,” according to the report.
After being told he needed to hand over the dogs or a search warrant would be obtained, Gibson told an officer “he understood I had to do what I have to do,” the report added.
During a search of the mansion later that day, officers breached the front door — but Gibson wasn’t home. They spoke with a house manager who said the four Cane Corsos had been removed from the property and that Gibson had left the country. The dogs remain missing.
The AJC called the number for Gibson’s address in the report but did not immediately receive a response.
“I’ve been in contact with his attorney and gave him till last Friday to turn himself in, and here it is Monday, and he still has not turned himself in,” Dwyer said.
Parker said he was outraged by Gibson’s comments and did not know he lived nearby or that his dogs were let loose on several occasions.
“If I had known that they were prowling, I never would have let Henry outside alone,” Parker said. “It enrages me. If (Gibson) knew it was an ongoing issue, secure them, move them somewhere else.”
Gibson grew up in Los Angeles and purchased a home in Atlanta in 2017.
Architectural Digest described the Buckhead residence as a “25,000-square-foot French Chateau-style mansion” that “radiates an inviting warmth — an effect Tyrese created with intention.” Earlier this year, he wrote a public Facebook page extolling his home and his neighbors.
“The peace, isolation, the fresh trees and greenery, the cul-de-sac, my neighbors are literally amazing,” he wrote. “We look out for each other. We laugh, we have private text chains. We keep each other updated on all things moving in the neighborhood and community and we constantly invite each other over for events. ... Honor thy neighbor.”
About a half-mile away, Henry has since been buried again in the backyard, and Parker hopes to get another dog once the grief begins to subside.
But for now, he hopes for justice and future laws to deter animal attacks while remembering the face of his well-trained companion.
“If I’m lucky enough,” Parker said, “I really hope to see him sitting (in the driveway) waiting for me one day.”
— AJC staff writer Rodney Ho contributed to this article.
