Records in the second arrest made for the February 24 dog attack reveal more about the dogs and their owners, including allegations that the dogs were trained to be aggressive. San Antonio police arrested Abilene Schnieder on Wednesday, March 1 on counts of attack by dangerous dog that causes death and injury to elderly through criminal negligence, according to arrest affidavits.
Schnieder was identified as Christian Moreno’s wife, the other owner of the dogs that killed Ramon Najera and severely injured his wife. Moreno was arrested on the same charges on February 25. Schnieder used the last name “Moreno” in previous reports where she apologized for the attacks but believed Moreno was innocent.
Schnieder also responsible
The arrest affidavits for Schnieder claim that she was also the owner of the two American Staffordshire Terriers that escaped through a hole in the fence and attacked the Najeras at their vehicle at a neighboring residence. The affidavits speak of video evidence showing that the dogs were not wearing collars or harnesses, like Schnieder and Moreno previously claimed.
Detectives with the San Antonio Police Department discovered Facebook posts from Schnieder where she called herself “grandma” after one of the dogs gave birth to puppies.
“The defendant failed to take the measures necessary to properly secure her dogs and was equally responsible for doing so,” the affidavit says.
Trained with meat
Moreno was breeding the dogs and allegedly trained them to be aggressive using meat, according to the affidavits. They also say that Schnieder was recorded having conversations with Moreno about the dogs being dangerous.
Animal control services (ACS) required the dogs to be harnessed, tethered, and sterilized after previous attacks. Schnieder claimed that she was afraid of the dogs because they had become more aggressive after they were sterilized. She also witnessed the dogs attacking each other in the yard and asked her husband to return the dogs to ACS for “everyone’s safety.”
The day of the attack, Moreno claimed that the dogs were harnessed and tethered. He also claimed that he kept the fence secure with a chain and U-shaped bracket, but he could not locate the U-shaped bracket.
Janie Najera’s account
Janie Najera, the wife of Ramon, told a detective while she was in the hospital that she and her husband were in the Westside neighborhood to visit a relative. It was previously reported that the couple was attacked as they exited their vehicle, but Janie told the detective that she saw her husband being attacked outside their vehicle as she exited the relative’s house, according to the affidavit.
The dogs attacked Janie as she attempted to help her husband, Ramon. He later died at the hospital and the dogs were captured and euthanized. Family members of the Najeras set up a GoFundMe to help pay for funeral and medical expenses. It raised a total of $25,000 before it was disabled by the creator.
Schnieder was still in jail at the time of this write up with a total bond of $125,000, according to Bexar County court records.