KANAWHA COUNTY, WV (WOWK) – A man charged after a woman was allegedly beaten and attacked by dogs during an altercation in Kanawha County appeared in court Monday.

On Sept. 11, 2023, Kanawha County Magistrate Judge Brent Hall raised the bond for Zachary Atkinson, 20, of Cabin Creek, to a $50,000 property bond or 10% cash. Also as a condition of the bond, Hall ordered the dogs must be removed from the neighborhood and Atkinson must not have contact with the victim.

Hall also found probable cause in the case and bound it over to a grand jury.

Atkinson was arrested on Saturday, Sept. 2, on a felony county of malicious assault after he was allegedly caught on video beating a woman while his two pit bulldogs attacked her.

According to the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were called to Hide-a-way Court Trailer Park in Cabin Creek around 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 2, where they say when they arrived on scene, Kanawha County medics were treating a 24-year-old woman for multiple dog bites as well as bruises and other injuries allegedly from a physical altercation.

The woman testified at a court hearing Monday, Sept. 11. stating that she and Atkinson had been in a disagreement over her allegedly owing him $10. She says she walked away and Atkinson began to follow her down the road, with both of them yelling at each other. In court, the victim claimed the dogs had gotten out and began following her and Atkinson as they walked.

In court, the victim said she and Atkinson allegedly got into an altercation, in which he let her go and she began to run away. The victim testified in court that she allegedly heard the victim telling the dogs to “sick ’em.”

According to the sheriff’s office and the victim’s statements in court, the victim and the suspect got into another physical altercation in which she fell on the ground. Deputies say she claimed the suspect allegedly began “encouraging and allowing” his dogs to attack her, and allegedly continued assaulting her as the dogs attacked.

The victim was taken to the hospital for further medical treatment, according to the KCSO, and the family said she was later released.

Even though she had no broken bones or stitches, she had visible bruising and several bite marks, including puncture wounds. In magistrate court, the victim said she was bitten on her neck, shoulder, thigh, and side, and also had an injury to her finger.

When asked in court if she had ever known the dogs to bite before, she said, “no.”

Atkinson is being held at the South Central Regional Jail.