Owner of dogs that police say fatally mauled Daleville teen jailed on drug charges

DALEVILLE, Ala. (WTVY) -While the investigation is apparently ongoing, it may be difficult for authorities to charge the owner of dogs that mauled a Daleville teen to death last week.

However, officers took Thomas Eric Sutton into custody early Sunday on related charges of possessing illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia.

Multiple law enforcement sources say Sutton owned the dogs that attacked 16-year-old Gabriel Damien Barron, who died while fishing in a private pond his family owns.

Public records show Sutton’s property borders the land along Lynwood Road owned by Barron’s family.

Dale County Coroner John Cawley described the dogs that as pit bull mixes. It was not clear how many animal were involved in the attack but Cawley said he believed it to be several.

Challenging investigators is whether Sutton had reasonable knowledge that those dogs were dangerous.

In October, grand jurors indicted a Bibb County, Alabama, man on a charge of having dangerous dogs after the mauling of his neighbor. However, published reports said, in that case, a judge previously declared the animals dangerous.

In the Daleville case involving Sutton, there is no indication that there had been such a judicial order.

Court records show Sutton has a history of drug charges and pleaded not guilty to one of them last month, with his trial pending.

As of 3 p.m. on Sunday, he remained jailed on his latest charges.

A text to Daleville police seeking comment for this story was not immediately returned.

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