A DeKalb County dog owner sentenced to jail after her pets attacked an 8-year-old girl, costing the child an arm, was back in court Wednesday asking a judge to reduce her sentence, Channel 2 Action News reported.
Twyann Vaughn, found guilty in January and sentenced to 16 months in prison, wants the court to release her from jail after only four months so that she can attend her son’s graduation, her public defender said.
“Her son is without both of his parents, and he is about to graduate high school, and more than likely she will miss that,” attorney Jamila Montaque told the court.
Montaque said her client also wants to be released so she can get a job and earn money to pay the Ingrams, if she is found liable in a pending civil case.
On Jan. 6, a DeKalb jury found Vaughn guilty of two counts each of reckless conduct, violation of the county’s vicious dog ordinance and failure to have her dogs immunized for rabies in connection with the March 2010 attack on Erin Ingram.
A DeKalb police sergeant ended the attack by shooting one of the dogs, a 4-year-old Staffordshire terrier named Sandy. A younger dog, a 2-year-old dachshund-Shaffordshire mix named Goldie, was later captured and euthanized.
Erin had taken the stand in the trial, showing jurors her lost left arm, her weakened right one and a lacing of scars. The jury took a little more than 90 minutes to find Vaughn guilty.
In court Wednesday, DeKalb County Solicitor General Sherry Boston argued against a sentence reduction for the dogs’ owner.
“[Vaughn] still fails to understand the ramifications of her criminal actions in this case,” Boston said. “She had not even spent 30 days in jail before she filed that motion [for a reduced sentence]. … When I read the motion, it was evident that Vaughn was not feeling remorseful.”
DeKalb State Court Judge Dax Lopez told the parties he would take the arguments into consideration and issue a written decision later.
Erin’s father, Bobby Ingram, said he, too, opposed a reduced sentence for Vaughn.
“I think she should serve her entire sentence,” the father said. “I actually wanted her to have more time than 16 months, so I definitely want her to serve more than four.”
The attack against Erin was so horrific, it led to legislation, signed into law last week by Gov. Nathan Deal, that could send owners of vicious dogs to jail.
Under the law, if a dog has been defined as vicious, the owner must carry $50,000 in insurance and the animal must be microchipped. A dog owner could face at least a year in prison and at least a $5,000 fine if the dog injures someone on a second occasion.
-- Staff writer April Hunt contributed to this article.
About the Author
