A Tacoma man is facing multiple charges after two pit bulls bit customers outside a convenience store and one person was struck in the mouth with a wrench, knocking out their tooth.
The wild incident unfolded Wednesday, April 29, outside the Speed-E Mart convenience store on South 19th Street in Tacoma, according to a probable cause statement. Police were called after reports that two pit bulls were biting people and preventing customers from leaving the store.
One person told officers he was bitten by the dogs and struck in the back of the head, according to court documents. An officer observed bite marks on the person’s arms that were actively bleeding.
A second person had bite marks on his hands and reported that the animals’ owner, Chad Kaaihue, threw a metal object at his face, striking him in the mouth and knocking out a tooth, according to the documents.
The victim later turned over a cut metal wrench with a rubber slingshot attached, which police said had blood on it.
Surveillance video reviewed by investigators showed Kaaihue near the store entrance with a dark gray pit bull and a white pit bull shortly before the attacks, according to court documents. The dogs were not leashed and were seen barking at people walking by.
Police said the dark gray dog first bit one person near the entrance, then bit the same person again inside the store. The same dog later bit another person on the arm when that person came back outside and confronted Kaaihue, according to the documents.
Video also showed Kaaihue reaching into his vehicle and throwing an object at that person, which investigators later identified as the wrench, according to the probable cause statement.
Crews from the Tacoma Fire Department treated both victims at the scene. Because St. Joseph Medical Center was nearby, both chose to walk to the hospital instead of being transported by ambulance.
Kaaihue left the scene in a gray Pontiac G6 with the dogs, police said. An officer followed him to another location, where animal control later took custody of the animals.
According to court documents, Kaaihue told officers one of the dogs had bitten him first and said they were not going to take his dogs. Officers arrested him after determining there was probable cause for assault.
Police said Kaaihue resisted arrest and refused to provide his name or date of birth. When asked for his name, he told officers it was “yo mama.com,” according to the probable cause document.
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