Affidavit: Dogs were trained to be aggressive
The owners of the pit bulls that mauled an elderly man to death used meat to train the dogs to be aggressive, San Antonio police investigators said.
That’s among the disturbing accusations made in affidavits supporting the arrests of Abilene Schnieder and her husband, Christian Alexander Moreno, both 31, after their American Staffordshire terriers, a breed of pit bull, fatally attacked 81-year-old Ramon Najera Jr. on Feb. 24.
Schnieder, who was arrested
Wednesday, is recorded having conversations with her husband telling him how dangerous their dogs had become, according to the affidavits.
And a detective, in the affidavits, said police had received tips alleging that Schnieder and Moreno “have been breeding the dogs and training the dogs to be aggressive with meat.”
Two of their three dogs escaped from their enclosure and attacked Najera just before 2 p.m. Friday in the 28000 block of Depla Street. Najera’s wife, Juanita, and two others were injured in a chaotic attempt to save him.
Schnieder, who referred to herself as “grandma” on social media after her dogs had puppies, told police after the incident that the dogs have been attacking each other in the yard, the affidavit states.
She told Moreno she wanted to “return the dogs to (Animal Care Services) for everyone’s safety.”
On previous occasions, Schnieder called police because she believed they were stolen.
The two pit bulls involved in last week’s attack, named Snow and Legend, left the front yard via a hole in the fence. Moreno told police the fence was secured by a U-shape bracket, but he could not find it while he was talking to investigators.
The couple’s dogs have attacked two people in the neighborhood. Most recently, Animal Care Services ordered Moreno to sterilize the dogs and to restrain them with a body harness combined with a tether in the yard.
Video footage recorded by bystanders shows there were no restrains on the animals on the day of the attack.
Investigators noted that there were cameras on Moreno’s home, but they only stream live images and do not record video
footage. The cameras were not on the when the attack occurred because the home did not have power since late January.
Authorities seized both pit bulls, along with another of the couple’s dogs. The three animals were euthanized.