$15 Million Judgment After Five Pit Bulls Kill Oklahoma City Man

On the afternoon of October 6, 2015, Edgar Brown, 60, stopped by a friend's rental home on SW 38th Street in southwest Oklahoma City to take out the trash. Five pit bulls belonging to neighbor Juan Marcos Diaz breached the chain-link fence separating the two properties and attacked him.

The injuries Brown sustained were catastrophic. Doctors amputated both of his legs and part of one arm in attempts to control infection and save his life. He also suffered a heart attack requiring triple bypass surgery. Brown died in the hospital on October 18, 2015, twelve days after the attack. All five dogs were euthanized.

The criminal case moved separately. Diaz was charged with second-degree manslaughter in August 2016, pleaded guilty in November 2017, and was sentenced to one year in prison with three years of probation. He served the sentence and was subsequently deported to Mexico.

Noble McIntyre filed a civil wrongful-death action on behalf of the Brown family. On February 8, 2019, Oklahoma County District Court entered a $15 million judgment against Diaz. McIntyre acknowledged from the outset that Diaz carried no liability insurance and held no attachable assets, making collection effectively impossible. The family pursued the case anyway.

Dexter Brown, Edgar's brother, explained the decision: "You can't have animals go out and kill somebody, tear them to pieces like they did my brother, and nothing happen to you." McIntyre framed the judgment as a statement to dog owners statewide: if an animal escapes and kills someone, the legal and financial consequences fall on the owner, regardless of ability to pay.