The owner of a pit bull that bit a 12-year-old boy and was shot in a confrontation with a Douglas County sheriff's deputy has been charged with two counts of ownership of a dangerous dog.

Justin Denton, 24, of Highlands Ranch, is to appear in Douglas County Court on April 3 on the misdemeanor charges, said sheriff's spokeswoman Cocha Heyden.

The dog, another pit bull belonging to Denton and a third dog were on the school grounds at Cresthill Middle School on Feb. 22 when one of the pit bulls bit the boy as he was chasing a basketball. The boy was not seriously injured.

Denton agreed to have both pit bulls put down, Heyden said. The third dog belonged to someone else and was returned to its owner, she added.

Deputies believe the dogs got out through an open garage door at Denton's nearby home, she said.