Dog attack victim’s family fights for change as they honor her memory
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Family and friends paid their respects to a 21-year-old woman killed in an Augusta dog attack.
Samara Rogers was honored Sunday night with a candlelight vigil and a balloon release.
It comes after she was killed when two dogs attacked her Wednesday morning on Ira Road.
Everyone gathered where that attack happened.
Meanwhile, Charles Blackwell, 55, is behind bars, charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the attack.
Arrest warrants say Blackwell did “cause the death of another human without any intention to do so.”
The warrants show the dogs escaped under Blackwell’s control and attacked Rogers, biting her multiple times.
Police arrest 22-year-old suspect in Aiken murder case
Aiken Department of Public Safety investigators have identified and obtained arrest warrants for 22-year-old for the 2024 shooting death of William Lee Mathis Jr.
Documents also say Blackwell is no stranger to animal services officials.
Neighbors in the area say the dogs have a history of aggression.
Rogers’ mother, Tameka Harris, says the family is fighting to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else.
“We are fighting to get these rules changed,” she said. “We are going to put it in Samara’s name – justice for Samara, forever 21, because this is tragedy that should have never happened.”
Fort Eisenhower murder suspect waives preliminary hearing
A defendant has waived his preliminary hearing in last weekend’s shooting death of a reservist in a family housing area at Fort Eisenhower.
Richmond County deputies say Rogers was walking along Ira Road when she was attacked around 10:30 Wednesday morning.
“She was coming from school, so she had her book bag and her ID and her stuff with her,” Harris said. “She was so close to her house. She was just right down the street. A couple more steps and she would have been there.”
Copyright 2024 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
