Texas man arrested in connection to fatal dog mauling

An elderly Texas man was fatally mauled by a pack of pit bulls, and their owner has now been charged in the vicious attack, authorities say.

Suspect Samuel Cartwright, 47, was taken into custody over the gruesome death of 71-year-old Freddy Garcia, who was strolling down the street in Fresno when he was killed by Cartwright’s dogs, the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office said Friday. Cartwright is facing a charge of attack by a dog resulting in death, a second-degree felony.

Garcia was jumped by the seven pit-bull mixes July 18 as he walked to a neighborhood store, authorities said.

“I can say this gentleman did nothing to provoke these animals, I can tell you that,” said Sheriff Eric Fagan at a press conference before Cartwright’s arrest. “He did nothing to provoke these animals. It was uncalled for, it was senseless.”

“The dogs just attacked him for no reason,” he added.

All of the killer dogs were found by deputies and animal-control officers and taken off the street, the sheriff’s office said.  

Cartwright remained in custody at the local county jail with his bond set at $100,000, the sheriff’s office said Friday.

“This devastating tragedy didn’t have to happen. I extend my deepest condolences to the Garcia family and his neighbors as they adjust to the loss of Mr. Garcia,” Fagan said in a press release announcing the arrest.

A family member of the victim remembered him as someone “full of life.”

“He was youthful. He was full of life. He liked to dance. He liked to sing. He was really joyful,” one of his granddaughters, Ivon Fajardo, told ABC 13. “We would get together on the weekend and enjoy each other’s company. Now that he’s not here, it’s not going to be the same.”