A San Antonio pit bull breeding couple ‘used meat to train their dogs to be aggressive‘ prior to the fatal mauling of an 81-year-old man.
Abilene Schnieder, F, 31, was arrested without incident Wednesday afternoon and charged with Dangerous Dog Attack Resulting in Death and Injury to Elderly – Criminal Negligence.
Meanwhile husband, Christian Alexander Moreno, remains in jail on the same charges following the attack which left 81-year-old Ramon Najera with fatal injuries.
Ramon Najera, 81, had been trying to protect his wife, 74, from the couple’s three pit bulls after they broke free from a yard on February 26 and mauled him to death. His wife, along with two other men, were also injured in the attack.
The dogs had attacked two other people in the neighborhood on two separate occasions and fresh evidence points to the criminal couple having ‘trained’ them to be vicious killers.
Investigators told news4sanantonio that the pit bulls made an easy escape from their yard through a hole in the fence.
According to the arrest report, a witness video showed that the dogs were not wearing collars or harnesses – a requirement of Animal Control Services (ACS). Moreno had told investigators that he had complied with the guidelines.
Police said they’d received tips that Moreno and Schnieder ‘have been breeding the dogs and training the dogs to be aggressive with meat.
‘The affidavit goes on to state that Schneider also had ‘recorded conversations with her husband regarding how dangerous the dogs had become.
The three dogs, described as American Staffordshire Terriers, were euthanized. DailyMail reports.
Following the incident, and before her arrest, Schnieder claimed her husband wasn’t responsible for the attack and that they’d taken care when raising the dogs.
Bonds are set at a combined $125,000.
The attack occurred along 2800 block of Depla Street, on the city’s west side where Najeras and his wife were visiting friends.
When they got out of their car, the couple were set upon by the two American Staffordshire Terriers.
When the San Antonio Fire Department arrived on the scene at around 1.45pm, the dogs were ‘still actively attacking the couple,’ police said.
