“Fast and Furious” franchise actor Tyrese Gibson turned himself in to police Friday after his dogs allegedly killed another dog in his Atlanta neighborhood.
Authorities had issued an arrest warrant on Sept. 22 for Gibson, who is also an accomplished R&B singer. He was booked on a charge of cruelty to animals and released, jail records show.
According to court documents, Gibson’s four cane corso dogs were seen running through the neighborhood on Sept. 18 and killed a neighbor’s 5-year-old Cavalier King Charles spaniel.
The owner of the small-breed dog, named Henry, said he let him out to use the bathroom just after 10 p.m. and that when he came back five minutes later, the dog was in the driveway near the front door, according to court documents.
Henry had separated and broken ribs on his right side, blood on the left side of his rib cage, and light puncture marks on his stomach, as well as severe internal bleeding, according to a police report. Security camera video showed Gibson’s four cane corsos running toward Henry’s home, the report said.
On the evening of the attack, a woman called animal control to report that four cane corsos were at her door and that she could not get to her vehicle, an incident report stated. An animal control officer arrived, saw the dogs in the front yard and escorted the woman to her car, it said.
One of Gibson’s friends later picked up the cane corsos, according to the report.
On Sept. 22, Fulton County police and animal control went to Gibson’s residence to have him surrender the four dogs, but he said over the phone that he would not surrender them and asked for a few days to figure out what to do, the report said.
The report also stated that Gibson “admitted that he believes his dogs killed Henry and that he knows it’s been an ongoing issue over the past few months with his dogs getting out.” A search warrant was executed at Gibson’s home the following day, but he and the dogs were not home, the report said.
Gabe Banks, Gibson’s attorney, said in a statement on the singer’s Instagram account that he was out of town when the attack occurred and “he accepts full responsibility for his dogs.” Gibson rehomed two of the dogs and put their three puppies “in safe and loving homes,” the attorney said.
“After nearly 40 years of being a passionate dog lover … my dogs have only ever been treated as family. They’ve never been trained to harm, never spent a single day in attack or protection training, and they’ve grown up playing with kids and smaller dogs in my home,” Gibson said in another statement on his Instagram page. “That’s why this incident has left me shocked, devastated, and heartbroken for the family affected.”
A Fulton County police captain said in the report that some of Gibson’s dogs were seen running through the neighborhood more than five times over the past few months and that Gibson had received a warning on Sept. 7. He also received a notice of a special permit he needed for having more than 10 dogs, according to the report. It’s not clear how many dogs Gibson has.
On its website, the American Kennel Club says of the breed: “Smart, trainable, and of noble bearing, the assertive and confident Cane Corso is a peerless protector.” As with other big guardian dogs, the AKC adds, “responsible breeding and early socialization with people and other dogs is vital.”