INDEPENDENCE, MO. ? A man was sentenced Wednesday to 100 days in jail for freeing a trio of pit bulls that mauled three men, reportedly to “see what kind of trouble he could cause.”

The length of time Bryan Smith will spend in jail coincides with the amount of time the most seriously injured of the victims spent in the hospital, said Van Buckley, a spokeswoman for Jackson County prosecutor’s office.

Afterward, Smith, 34, of Independence, must serve two years probation and cannot have control over any animals during that time. He also must perform 100 hours of community service.

Jackson County Circuit Judge Jeffrey Bushur imposed the sentence after Smith entered an Alford plea to three counts of third-degree assault in the May 4 attacks. An Alford plea is not an admission of guilt but a concession prosecutors have sufficient evidence for a conviction.

According to court documents, a neighbor of the Independence house where the dogs were kept told police Smith had told him he was planning to release the dogs “to see what kind of trouble he could cause.”

The neighbor, Earl D. Howard Jr., told investigators he warned Smith against doing so but later saw a window in the house open and three dogs jump out.

Howard said he saw Smith at the window, laughing. Smith had been working on the house.

The three dogs attacked one man while he was out walking and two other men as they mowed grass.

Nancy Wisdom, who owned the home where the dogs were kept, told police she was planning to have the dogs removed because they were so vicious.

The owner of the dogs Paul Piper, was sentenced in October to two years probation for violating the city’s animal-control ordinance.