3 arrested after Pit Bull disturbance

WOLCOTT, Conn. (WTNH) -- Three Wolcott residents were arrested following a confrontation involving two Pit Bulls, two small dogs, and a 60-year-old man.

The incident occurred around 1 p.m. Tuesday, in the area of 9 Maple Ave.

Upon arrival, police learned that a 60-year-old man had been walking his two leashed small dogs when two Pit Bulls came running from the yard of 9 Maple Ave. towards them.

"I was with my grandson, luckily he protected this dog," the 60-year-old man said.

The man told News 8 when the Pit Bulls went after his dog Cleo, he tried pushing them away to protect his dog.

"This guy came behind me and was yelling and screaming at me to 'leave his f'ing dogs alone' and to stop it and all this," the 60-year-old said.

That guy he is referring to is 19-year-old Thomas Adkins.

A neighbor noticed the disturbance and went to the aid of the 60-year-old man. The neighbor got between Adkins and the man to prevent any physical violence.

At that time, 21-year-old Thomas Start saw the neighbor keeping Adkins away and went to assist Adkins. When the neighbor told Start that he was an off-duty police officer, Start immediately calmed down.

Both Adkins and Start were arrested for creating a public disturbance.

When police checked, they found that Start was on probation. As one of the conditions of his probation, Start was not allowed to be with underage girls. However, there were three underage girls at the 9 Maple Ave. home.

The Connecticut Probation Department was informed of the violation and they responded with a violation of probation warrant for Start. He is being held on a $100,000 bond.

The owner of the Pit Bulls, Adkins' girlfriend Sabrina Saucier, also of 9 Maple Ave., was arrested for two counts of allowing a dog to roam and one count of nuisance canine.

One of the small dogs suffered a puncture wound and was taken to the vet for treatment. It has since been released. Wolcott's Municipal Animal Control Officer is following up.

DCF was also notified of the incident and is investigating.

The daughter of the 60-year-old man went to police Wednesday morning to find out what was going on as they don't feel like police punished the young men.

She says she didn't get any answers, so News 8 asked the Chief.

"Obviously there's a problem," said Chief Edward Stephens. "They're afraid of these dogs. Right, but this is the first incident we had with these dogs."

Chief Stephens also says there is no leash law, but you must keep your dog in control, so tickets were issued.

"The dogs were not quarantined," said Stephens, "it was a dog on dog attack, had it been a person bit we'd go by the law and quarantine it."

Police say the Pit Bulls are five to six months old. They take these calls seriously and encourage residents to call if there's a concern in their neighborhood.