NEED TO KNOW
- A man was arrested nearly one month after a teen girl was mauled by several dogs
- The teen was attacked by the canines in Newberry Springs on July 17, while jogging through the man’s neighborhood
- Craig Arthur Simmons, 61, was taken into custody on Aug. 13
A California man was arrested nearly one month after a teen girl was mauled by several dogs while jogging through his neighborhood.
On Wednesday, Aug. 13, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department (SBCSD) arrested Craig Arthur Simmons, 61, in connection with the dog mauling, after having “conducted surveillance” on his home, the SBCSD’s Barstow Station announced in an alert.
The arrest took place nearly a month after a 17-year-old girl was mauled by more than 10 dogs in the community of Newberry Springs on July 17. At the time, the girl’s parents said she was out jogging when the “large-breed dogs” attacked her, according to authorities.
The teen has since been identified locally, and through a GoFundMe campaign, as Tracy.
Ahead of Simmons’ arrest, police said they saw the suspect riding his bike down a roadway near the home. They interviewed him and then took him into custody, and he was later booked into the High Desert Detention Center.
Simmons is accused of violating Code 399(B), Owner of Animal Causing Serious Bodily Injury or Death, according to the SBCSD.
The SBCSD did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for further information on Saturday, Aug. 16. It is not clear if Simmons has legal representation to comment on his behalf.
The SBCSD announced last month that authorities learned of the mauling at around 9:52 a.m. local time on July 17. Police said the attack took place about two hours prior.
The teen was transported to Loma Linda University Medical Center, and, after speaking with her parents, police learned the dogs bit her “several times” on her arms and legs. The attack left the girl with “large lacerations, abrasions and removed flesh,” per authorities.
A witness rescued the teen from the animals. According to the SBCSD, the dogs were “not fenced or leashed at the time of the incident.” The San Bernardino Animal Control later seized 16 canines from the area, before the launch of a criminal investigation.
At the time of the attack, the teen was traveling to a workout facility near a local community center, ABC 7 Los Angeles reported.
While the girl’s mother told the outlet she “never thought anything would happen to her,” she added that she “couldn’t recognize” her daughter after the attack, since she was covered in dirt.
“What was going through my mind was the worst,” her stepfather, Carlos Ramirex, told ABC 7. “It was not one dog or two dogs, it was a lot. They bit every part of her body you could think of except for her ankles.”
The GoFundMe page for the teen, who ABC 7 reported has since been released from the hospital, said she was preparing for her senior year of high school.
“Now, because of this, she has to stay home and go to several doctors’ appointments and rehab,” the fundraiser stated. “Due to the trauma, she cannot sleep at night; she’s having nightmares.”
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