Authorities on Friday identified the 63-year-old woman who died after being mauled by a pack of pit bulls in the Antelope Valley as Pamela Maria Devitt, of Littlerock.

L.A. County sheriff’s homicide detectives were continuing to investigate whether several pit bulls seized from the residence of a man, whose home contained a marijuana growing operation, are responsible for the fatal attack.

Alex Jackson, 29, is a “person of interest” in Devitt’s death, said Sheriff’s Department spokesman Steve Whitmore.

Jackson was arrested on suspicion of cultivating marijuana at a house near 115th Street East and Avenue S in the community of Littlerock after police conducted a search of the property related to the Thursday morning mauling.


Sheriff’s Capt. Mike Parker said detectives with a warrant, and working with animal control took eight dogs, including six pit bulls.

Neighbors told KTLA News they shot a video of the dogs hopping over the fence at the house where they lived.

“If there’s people on horses or elderly people walking, they attack them,” one man, who did not want to be identified, told the station.

The first deputy at the scene of the attack in Littlerock found the woman on the ground and saw a dog. According to Parker, the deputy chased the dog but it turned on him, so he fired a shot toward the dog, which then ran.


The deputy continued his pursuit, the dog again turned in an aggressive manner, and the deputy fired another shot. The dog eventually fled into the desert off Avenue S.

Sheriff’s deputies went door to door Thursday afternoon, warning people to stay away from the area, Parker said. They were also trying to determine who the dogs belonged to, he said.

Devitt woman died en route to a hospital.

Police had not determined Friday morning if the dogs taken Thursday were the ones that attacked the woman.


Hours after the attack, Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, who represents the area, offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the four dogs.

In announcing the reward, Antonovich warned residents to stay indoors and call 911 if they see the animals. Parents walking their children home from school were told to be particularly cautious.

[For the Record, 3:12 p.m. May 10: An earlier version of this online post contained previously published -- and out of date -- information that the victim of the attack had not been identified.]

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richard.winton@latimes.com