Davidson sentenced for different criminal incidents

The owner of three pit bulls that mauled a local man earlier this year was sentenced to 364 days in jail on Monday.

However, the sentence agreement is pending as prosecutors and Davidson’s attorney finalize a restitution agreement for two dog maulings last year.

Ricky Davidson, 40, did not speak after his sentence was handed down by Fifth Judicial District Court Judge Robert Lane.

District Attorney prosecutor Michael Vieta-Kabell said he and defense attorney Lisa Chamlee reached an agreement on the punishment Davidson will receive for the mauling, a previous dog attack, a drug violation and a previous traffic offense.

All of Davidson’s cases were bundled in what’s known as a “global negotiation” by the prosecution and defense.

However, both sides are still negotiating restitution for two incidents in August and September where Davidson’s dog attacked and killed two small dogs owned by his neighbors.

“Both sides have stipulated to 364 days in jail and then there’s still the issue of restitution,” he said. “We have not received the restitution documentation at this point but I have spoken with Mr. Davidson’s defense attorney and she assured me that once we get that documentation and as long as it appears to be reasonable, we will either agree, or if there are any arguments over it, we will request to set a restitution hearing but at this time I believe we are prepared to move forward with sentencing.”

Lane said both sides need to come to an agreement on restitution before the case can be finalized and closed.

“We cannot do the judgment of conviction until we get a restitution figure,” he said. “If both sides cannot come to an agreement on that figure then we will have another hearing on it.”

Lane credited 115 days for time already served since Davidson’s arrest March 13 when his dogs attacked Kenneth Ford, 79, who left his home to feed a neighbor’s cats on Black Street. Davidson was a tenant at the property.

According to sheriff’s deputies, the three pit bulls scaled a six-foot fence and brutally mauled Ford.

Ford died on April 15 at University Medical Center in Las Vegas, but the Clark County Coroner’s Office has yet to determine the exact cause of death.

Vietta-Kabel said a valuable lesson can be learned from the tragic incidents.

“Hopefully we will never see him reoffend again,” he said. “Most of the people in our community own animals and love their animals and they do a great job with taking care of them but occasionally we do see problems with keeping animals as we’ve seen before in other cases. We take each case as it comes and try to deal with them all responsibly and make sure that we are enforcing the laws of Nye County and the state of Nevada.”