Alex Jackson, 29, was taken into custody at his home and booked at the Palmdale sheriff's station Thursday morning. His bail has been set at $1,050,000.
"He's responsible for those dogs," said Lt. John Corina of the L.A. County Sheriff's Department.
Pamela Devitt, 63, was mauled to death by a pack of pit bulls on May 9 as she was walking on 116th Street East and Avenue S. Detectives say a witness in a car saw four to five dogs brutally mauling the victim. The witness honked her horn to distract the animals, but they attacked her car and began biting her tires.
When a sheriff's deputy responded, one dog was still there attacking the victim. The dog came after the deputy and fled when the deputy fired at the animal several times.
The investigation led detectives to Jackson's home on the day of the attack. There were eight dogs at the home, and four of the dogs appeared to have blood on their coats and muzzles, deputies said.
An autopsy revealed that Devitt died from blood loss attributed to sharp force trauma. She sustained approximately 150 to 200 puncture wounds.
A DNA test of the blood on the pit bulls matched the victim's blood.
Don Devitt, the victim's husband, said the arrest cannot bring back the love of his life for 43 years, but he hopes it sends a stern warning to irresponsible dog owners.
"If it can kind of light a fire and make people be more responsible for their dogs and really put a light on this vicious dog situation that we have around here, it's a good thing," he said.
Don Devitt says although his wife was viciously killed by pit bulls, he does not hate the animals.
"Dog owners are coming out saying that it's not the pit bulls so I'm going to tend to side with the people that know pit bulls and who say that it's not the pit bulls," he said.
Prosecutors say since January, authorities received at least three other reports of Jackson's pit bulls attacking other people.
The L.A. County District Attorney's Office has filed charges of murder and owner neigligence of an animal causing death against Jackson, who is the owner of the dogs. Jackson allegedly had a marijuana grow operation at his Littlerock home and was also charged with cultivating marijuana, possession of marijuana for sale, possession for sale of a controlled substance and assault with a deadly weapon.
Jackson is scheduled to appear in court Friday. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.
