Concord man sentenced in pit bull-mauling death of step-grandson

A 56-year-old Concord man was sentenced to a year in jail after his pit bulls mauled his 2-year-old step-grandson to death and played “tug of war” with his body, officials said.

Steven Hayashi also was ordered Monday to serve three years’ probation for involuntary manslaughter in the July 2010 death of Jacob Bisbee, said Prosecutor Mary Knox of the Contra County district attorney’s office.

Prosecutors had asked a judge to sentence Hayashi to 10 years in prison for what they described as a pattern of red flags leading up to Jacob’s death.

“It’s very disheartening,” Knox said. “There were multiple red flags. This was a real danger.”

The dogs reportedly mauled a bird, killed a Chihuahua and left deep claw marks on Hayashi’s home after reportedly trying to lunge at pedestrians.

Hayashi was arrested in July 2010 after three of his five pit bulls attacked Jacob in the family’s home garage. Hayashi wasn’t home during the attack, but the dogs belonged to him.

Jacob apparently entered the unlocked garage and was immediately attacked by the pitbulls, she said.

Investigators reportedly could tell the attack was instant because his ear was found at the foot of the entrance.

The dogs ripped off a portion of Jacob’s face and head, and tugged at his limbs until they became dislodged from their sockets, Knox said.

“These dogs had been playing tug-of-war with this boy,” she said.

The attack, she said, was gruesome, leaving countless injuries on the toddler’s body. He suffered more than 100 bite marks, Knox said.

The dogs were euthanized after the incident. An autopsy, she said, later revealed the dogs’ stomachs contained some of the toddler’s hair and clothing.

The toddler’s father, Michael Bisbee, and his two sons had moved into his mother and Hayashi’s home, looking for help with their care, she said.

Hayashi’s attorney, David Cohen, told Judge John W. Kennedy that his client had no way of knowing the dogs would attack, the Contra Costa Times reported.

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