Pit bull owner whose dog killed woman gets 15 to life in prison

LANCASTER, Calif. — A California pit bull owner whose dogs fatally mauled a woman has been sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.

Alex Donald Jackson was sentenced Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court for second-degree murder.

Prosecutors asked for 24 years to life imprisonment for the killing last year of Pamela Devitt and drug charges.

Devitt was taking a morning stroll in the high desert town of Littlerock when four of Jackson’s dogs leaped over a fence and attacked her.

Prosecutors say the dogs guarded Jackson’s marijuana-growing operation and he knew the animals were dangerous.

A murder conviction in a dog mauling death is rare. Prosecutors say Jackson should have done more to restrain the animals.