Destroying Pit Bull May Bring Lighter Sentence

A Tujunga couple convicted in 1987 of harboring a vicious animal volunteered Wednesday to have their pit bull terrier destroyed and a prosecutor said he will recommend that they receive a lighter sentence in return.

The city attorney’s office also agreed to drop its lawsuit against Darla and Harry Grizelle, whose dog, Bruno, is accused of threatening public health and safety, Deputy City Atty. Nicholas J. Fratianne said.

The 1987 conviction and the lawsuit stem from three attacks last year, the most serious of which involved a 75-year-old woman who was bitten on her arms and neck. The woman, Katherine Barnes, sought medical attention but was not hospitalized, and Fratianne said the heavy coat she was wearing saved her life.

Wednesday’s agreement with prosecutors was reached shortly before Van Nuys Municipal Judge Michael J. Farrell was to sentence the Grizelles for their convictions on two misdemeanor charges of maintaining a public nuisance and allowing a vicious animal to run loose on the street.

When defense attorney Frederic J. Warner informed the judge that his clients would have Bruno destroyed within the next two days, the Grizelles’ teen-age daughter gasped and ran from the courtroom.

Farrell then postponed sentencing until Friday when the Grizelles are to return to court with proof that Bruno has been destroyed. Fratianne said he will ask that the Grizelles be ordered to pay $300 restitution to Barnes for her medical bills. He said he also will request that the Grizelles be placed on probation for about one month.

Each could have received a sentence of up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine, Fratianne said.

In a brief interview outside the courtroom, Darla Grizelle said she wanted to stress that she and her husband were not forced to destroy their dog; they offered to do it.

“I don’t want any more trouble,” she said. “I just want to be left alone.”

Warner suggested that the time and expense involved in fighting the lawsuit may have prompted the Grizelles’ decision.

“It’s been a long, uphill battle for everybody,” he said.

After the Grizelles’ conviction in November, Farrell placed Bruno in the custody of a state humane officer. Bruno then was boarded at the Dog Star Kennel in Sunland where he was regarded as “such a gentleman, you expect him to have cologne on,” according to Jean Gregory who helps run the facility.

Last month, Bruno was returned home after Farrell discovered that he had lacked the authority to confine the dog.

Warner said the dog never has threatened the Grizelles, their children or visitors to their home.