CALIFORNIA CITY, Calif. — The Kern County District Attorney says a man accused of leaving a child to drown after pulling his dogs from Central Park Lake is set to be arraigned next month on multiple felony charges.
California authorities said Kenneth Dobbins made no attempt to save a boy who was chased into the water in California City by his dogs earlier this summer.
Dobbins had a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, where a court failed to find sufficient evidence to support a charge of second-degree murder. However, Dobbins is still held to answer on charges of involuntary manslaughter, failure to control animals resulting in death, and failure to control animals resulting in great bodily injury.
His arraignment is scheduled for October 8.
According to a search warrant, Dobbins’ three dogs chased 12-year-old Fernando Torres Moreno into the waters of Central Park Lake, and Torres Moreno began to struggle to stay above water. In the midst of that, California City Police alleged that Dobbins went into the water to retrieve the dogs, but did not attempt to help Torres Moreno, walking away while calling his dogs to follow him.
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When police arrived on scene, they were able to pull Torres Moreno’s body from the lake to begin life-saving procedures, though the child died a day later in a Tehachapi hospital.
According to the warrant, after Dobbins’ dogs were pulled from the water, the dogs allegedly attacked Torres Moreno’s 8-year-old sister, leaving her with serious bites.
