ROSEVILLE, Mich. – A man accused of letting his dog viciously attack his mother and her boyfriend in Roseville is no longer facing two felonies after the case was dismissed.
Charges were authorized against Robert Laughton, 29, in May after his pit bull mix mauled the couple. Laughton was charged with two counts of harboring a vicious animal causing injury.
For the past four months, Laughton has been fighting to stay out of prison. In April, his dog, Bruce, attacked his mother and her boyfriend after she let him out of his cage.
"I said, 'Bruce, I can't do this again,'" Laughton's mother said. "I grabbed his collar and I couldn't pull him off me. I tried to open his mouth to get it off my arm and it was too strong. I couldn't."
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Laughton's mother testified how serious the bites to her arms were. She said she got 98 staples in her right arm and 74 staples in her left arm.
Days after the attack, Laughton told Local 4 he didn't feel he should be charged in the case.
"I don't understand what I did," Laughton said. "I just owned a dog. He messed up, and my dog paid for it."
After hearing from both victims and police, Laughton's attorney made a simple request to the court.
"At this time, we're asking to dismiss this case," he said.
The defense felt Laughton's mother and her boyfriend were co-owners of the dog and knew the risks of having him.
In the end, the judge agreed.
"Unless you have something else, I'm going to dismiss the case," the judge said.