WACO, Texas (KWTX) – The former owner of an RV park near West pleaded guilty Monday to owning a group of vicious dogs that attacked and seriously injured three women at the campgrounds in 2021.
Charles D. Stanley, 56, pleaded guilty to three third-degree felony counts of attack by dog and a misdemeanor count of interference with emergency request for assistance in exchange for a recommendation from prosecutors Alyssa Killin and Bailey Bryson that he be placed on felony deferred probation for 10 years and fined $3,000.
The prosecutors also asked County Court-at-Law Judge Vik Deivanayagam to prohibit Stanley from owning dogs while he is on probation.
Deivanayagam accepted Stanley’s guilty plea and ordered a presentence investigation by probation officers, which the judge will review before deciding if he will accept the plea bargain. Sentencing is set for Jan. 29.
Stanley, former owner of Waco North RV Park, 24132 N. Interstate 35, was set to stand trial on the four counts Monday morning before he accepted the plea offer. Stanley’s attorney, Walter M. Reaves, declined comment on the case Monday.
A McLennan County grand jury indicted Charles Stanley, 52, and Mendy Jackson-Hughitt, 51, on three counts each of attack by dog charges in separate incidents last year(KWTX)
Stanley and Mendy Jackson-Hughitt, 55, the former park manager, were charged in separate incidents in February 2021, July 2021, and August 2021, in which three women who visited the park were attacked and injured by a pack of dogs reportedly owned by the pair.
Jackson-Hughitt pleaded guilty to three counts of attack by dog in December, and 54th State District Judge Susan Kelly placed her on deferred probation for 10 years, fined her $2,000 and forbid her from owning dogs while on probation.
In deferred probation cases, defendants can avoid felony convictions and there is no final judgment of guilt if they complete the terms and conditions of probation.
Killin and Bryson said in a joint statement that Stanley and Jackson-Hughitt repeatedly failed to take action to protect the public after the initial vicious attack “made the danger clear.”
“Four victims were mauled and maimed, while others were also bitten, all because the defendants chose to leave the dogs unsecured despite their knowledge of the ongoing danger,” the prosecutors said. “By receiving the maximum probation under the law of 10 years, these defendants will be regularly monitored and required to follow all community service conditions.”
Two of the women injured by the dogs filed civil lawsuits to recover damages for their injuries and were awarded summary judgments of $965,000 and $962,000, respectively. However, Stanley filed bankruptcy after the attacks and the women collected $44,000 and $42,000, respectively, after bankruptcy proceedings, said their attorney, Aubrey Robertson.
One of the women was knocked to the ground and had chunks of flesh torn from her left arm, right thigh, and abdomen, according to McLennan County Sheriff’s Office reports and the civil lawsuit spawned by the attacks.
She told sheriff’s office investigators that several dogs ran up and began circling her without barking. Others joined in before the dogs lunged at her, she reported.
She reported the “dogs were tearing at me from every direction,” according to reports.
The lawsuit filed by one of the women said it took Stanley several minutes to pull the dogs off of her and to put them away. He then drove her to Hill Regional Hospital, where she was stabilized before transfer to a Waco hospital. She underwent skin grafts and multiple surgeries, with medical bills totaling more than $62,000, according to court documents.
The fourth count against Stanley alleges he told her to report she was attacked by coyotes instead of his dogs or he wouldn’t call 911.
Stanley was free on bond until he missed a court date in October 2025 and his bond was increased to $250,000. He was released from jail again after posting bond until Dec. 22, 2025, when he tested positive for methamphetamine. His bond was increased to $300,000 and he remained jailed Monday.
According to court documents, Stanley secured his dogs after McLennan County Sheriff’s Office deputies came to the RV park and found the dogs eating the body of a dead man in one of the cabins. It was determined the man died from natural causes and no charges were filed, officials said.
Also, in 2011 or 2012, Stanley’s shop exploded and law enforcement officials found about 25 automatic weapons – some with no serial numbers. They also found 50-gallon containers of ammunition and a gallon can of gun powder, according to documents filed in Stanley’s case.
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