Woman Accused of Using Pit Bull as Weapon

A Canoga Park woman was arraigned Thursday on four counts of misdemeanor assault with a deadly weapon--a pit bull.

Authorities said Jacquelyn Kay Scott, 42, didn’t appreciate it when neighbors tried to break up a loud argument she was having, so she set her dog on them.

“She opened the door to her motor home and ordered a pit bull-looking dog to ‘sic ‘em’ as she points to the victims,” said Rick Schmidt, head deputy city attorney in Van Nuys. “The dog then attacks them as the defendant allegedly continued shouting, ‘Sic ‘em!’ ”

Three of the four people attacked were treated at a hospital for bites on their hands, feet, arms and legs.

Schmidt said Scott was living with her dog in a motor home behind a business on Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks and was in the alley, having a screaming argument with a man about 9:30 one night.

Neighbors at a house behind the alley called police to report the January fight.

When a woman tried to break up the argument, Schmidt said, Scott “screamed at the woman to shut up, that it was none of her business” and pushed the woman, knocking her down.

A friend came over to help the woman and Scott unleashed her dog, who bit them both, Schmidt said. Two more friends rushed out to help and also were attacked.

As police cars rolled up to the bleeding, punctured victims, Scott tried to run away, but she was caught and arrested, Schmidt said.

She was later released as authorities investigated the incident and tried to determine the extent of the injuries, Schmidt said. She was charged with the crime months later but did not appear in court, he added.

Scott was arrested Wednesday on a warrant for the attack. She pleaded not guilty to the charges Thursday in Van Nuys Municipal Court and was released on her own recognizance.

Schmidt said she faces up to four years in jail or a $5,000 fine.