BASS LAKE – A Bass Lake woman was arrested last weekend after allegedly assaulting a neighbor, and then sicking her Pitt Bull mix on a deputy who responded to the scene.
Gwen Lucille Sherrell, 52, was arrested Saturday afternoon at her home on Road 222 in Bass Lake.
Shortly before 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 12, Deputy Gerald Marin responded to a disturbance near the intersection of Road 222 and Road 432.
Witnesses say Sherrell was standing in the middle of the street, with a large dog running loose by her side. She was reportedly blocking traffic on both sides of the road and shouting obscenities. She then assaulted a man in a wheelchair, punching him twice in the face, according to the Madera County Sheriff’s Office.
By the time Deputy Marin arrived on scene, the woman was back in the road, blocking traffic in both directions, and shouting profanities at a members of a wedding party taking place nearby.
When Deputy Marin tried to detain her, she took off running towards her home, and reportedly gave her dog a command to attack. The Pitt Bull mix immediately charged at the deputy, who had no choice but to shoot at the dog, says the Sheriff’s Office. With a grazed ear, the animal ran back to the house, and both dog and suspect ran inside.
Sherrell was finally taken into custody nearly an hour later, without further incident. She was transported to Madera County Department of Corrections where she remains at this hour with bail set at $10,000.
Animal Control was called to the home and took possession of Sherrell’s two dogs.
