Syracuse, NY -- A Syracuse man will spend between 10 and 25 years in prison for ordering his pit bull to attack another man, biting off half of his left pinky and causing other injuries.

Eric Bacon, 30, was found guilty of assault after a jury found he "used a dangerous instrument" to seriously injure the victim in the May 12, 2014 attack.

That dangerous instrument was a 90-pound pit bull, said prosecutor Michael Manfredi. He provided the following account:

A man, Steven Cruse, 51, was letting his German shepherd out for a walk around 10:40 p.m. when the 15-year-old dog was attacked by two pit bulls who ran onto Cruse's lawn in the 200 block of Essex Street.

Cruse rushed out to protect his elderly dog, eventually lying on his pet with his arms around the dog's neck in an effort to stave off the attack. He suffered bite marks as the pit bulls continued attacking.

The ruckus caused neighbors to come outside and there were multiple witnesses to the attack. One teenager jumped into the fray in an attempt to protect Cruse and his dog.

Shortly thereafter, a minivan pulled up and the dogs jumped in. Cruse, seeing that the perpetrators were getting away, threatened to call police.

That's when Bacon is accused of saying something that triggered the male pit bull to jump out of the vehicle and attack Cruse.

It's that second attack that caused Cruse to lose half of his pinky finger and sustain permanent injuries to his right hand, Manfredi said.

The pit bull then jumped into the van and the perpetrators took off.

When police came back the next morning to investigate, they spotted the minivan, Manfredi said.

Bacon has served time in prison for robbery. Because of his prior crimes, he's facing at least 10 years in prison. The maximum punishment allowed for assault is 25 years in prison.

Bacon will be sentenced May 29. He has sent to jail after the guilty verdict with no bail.