Co-defendant pleads guilty on fatal dog attack case

April 3 court appearance.

port and died on Sept. 17.

BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CWESTEMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

A 30-year-old man has pleaded guilty to felony and misdemeanor charges of unlawful ownership of a dangerous dog after his and his girlfriend’s pit bulls attacked her 12-year-old son and killed her 88-year-old grandmother last fall.

Victor Bentley, who owned one of the two dogs involved in the attack, received deferred judgment on the charges for two years and 100 hours of community service during his

Kayla Mooney, Bentley’s girlfriend and the mother of the 12-yearold boy, owned the other dog and pleaded guilty to the same charges last month. She also received two years’ deferred judgment and 100 hours of community service.

On Sept. 14, Golden police o cers responded to reports of an animal bite in the 15700 block of West First Avenue. O cers found two pit bulls attacking 88-year-old Mary Gehring in Mooney’s backyard. Gehring and Mooney’s children had stopped by the house, and when the dogs attacked, the children went to call for help.

After additional o cers arrived and held o the dogs, paramedics transported Gehring to St. Anthony Hospital. She was taken o life sup- e dogs were captured and later euthanized.

Mooney’s son was taken to Children’s Hospital but was released a few days later.

Golden doesn’t have dog breed ban laws but does require owners to have their dogs licensed and vaccinated. Both dogs involved were up-to-date on their shots, according to the arrest a davit.

During Bentley’s April 3 court appearance, the prosecutors noted how the 12-year-old’s father didn’t agree with the resolution for Mooney or Bentley, believing the sentencing should’ve been harsher.

Bentley’s defense attorney stated that in the seven years Bentley owned his dog, the dog had never been aggressive toward people and

had only gotten into ghts with other dogs twice.

Judge Lindsay VanGilder noted how one of the conditions for Bentley’s plea is that he can’t own a dog for at least a year and must take a dog ownership class, among other conditions.

If he violates any of them, he could receive the maximum sentence for the charges, she explained. If he doesn’t, though, the case against him will be dismissed in spring 2025.

Before making her ruling, VanGilder re ected on the gravity of Gehring’s death and the 12-yearold’s injuries, saying, “ e outcome here is tragic.”

However, she felt that the plea agreement between the prosecution and the defense was “a valuable option,” and accepted it.