Ving Rhames Dog Attack At Actors Home Man Dead

A caretaker was fatally mauled by at least two dogs at the Brentwood home of actor Ving Rhames, who was out of the country filming a movie, police said today.

The man was not immediately identified, but Los Angeles Police Sgt. Lee Sands said he was in his early 40s and had worked for Rhames for two years. Police said they believed that the dogs belonged to the actor.

The victim's body was found lying in the front yard of Rhames' home on the 12900 block of San Vicente Boulevard, covered in bite wounds.

"This morning at 7:15 a.m. we got a call of a dead body (at Rhames' home)," Gonzalez said. "We found the body of a male, approximately 40 years old, on the front lawn, who had been mauled by dogs."

She said the caretaker was pronounced dead at the scene and there was no one else around when officers arrived.

Four dogs, at least two of them mastiffs, were taken away by animal control officers. It was not immediately clear who had called police, or how many dogs had mauled the caretaker, who had worked for Rhames for two years.

She said Rhames, perhaps best known for starring alongside Tom Cruise in all three "Mission: Impossible" movies, was not home when officers arrived.

Representatives for the 46-year-old actor, who according to news reports was out of the country shooting a movie, had no immediate comment.

Rhames has a long list of film and television credits and won a Golden Globe for starring as Don King in a 1997 TV movie about the flamboyant boxing promoter. He was nominated for an Emmy for the same role.

Gonzalez said an investigation by Los Angeles police detectives was under way and that no further details were immediately available.