San Antonio, TX – On February 24, 2023, Ramon Najera, 81, was brutally killed by two pit bulls. The dogs’ owners, Christian Moreno and Abilene Schnieder, were later sentenced to 18 and 15 years respectively.

The three-day punishment phase of this trial was captured on video. Due to this rarity, we examined the testimony of Najera’s wife, a responding police officer, prosecution’s closing arguments, and the sentencing. Our last in this series examines the testimony of two animal control officers.

You will see evidence of the crime scene aftermath in the videos we discuss. You will see images of the exterior and interior of the defendants’ home taken by ACS Lieutenant Bethany Snowden.

You will learn from Snowden details about the three previous bites, the dogs involved in each, and the procedures San Antonio Animal Care Services (ACS) follows after a dog bite. You will see defense poke holes in these procedures, which may shed light on strategies being used in the civil lawsuit.

Civil Lawsuit Excerpt

“Shockingly, this wasn’t the only incident involving the dogs. Prior to the February 24, 2023, attack, the dogs were involved in at least three other attacks on people, with two of the three resulting in bite wounds. On August 20, 2020, three years prior to the fatal mauling, the City confirmed in writing that it received affidavits from concerned citizens alleging that the dogs were dangerous and that they engaged in threatening physical behavior to humans. The City should have taken action in response to this complaint about the dangerous dogs and stopped any additional events from happening right then and there. But the City did nothing.” – Najera et al v. City of San Antonio et al, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas

Part I: Crime Scene Aftermath

A San Antonio ACS officer who responded to the scene testifies (11 minutes). The officer shows photographs of the crime scene aftermath. The video starts when he begins [2:04:20]

At [2:04:20], a male ACS officer who responded to the scene on Depla Street on February 24, 2023 identifies the photographs he took of the attack site. An axe used by responding firefighters to fight off the pit bulls is seen lying on a leaf covered lawn soaked in pools of blood. Other images include the defendants’ front gate ajar, blood on the sidewalk, a tear in the gate’s fencing, the two blood-covered dogs involved, “King” and “Snow” secured together in a kennel, and the old scar wounds on King.

At [2:10:14], a third pit bull, “Legend,” is shown being led away from the scene by Moreno with multiple first responder vehicles in the background. Legend also has old scar wounds. A reference of Legend being involved in the fatal attack is “hearsay” and not entered into the court record. Legend was not seen in the video of the fatal attack filmed by a witness, only King and Snow were. Defense tries to contest the ACS officer’s ability to identify the scar wounds, a task he does “daily” in the field.

The officer’s testimony ends at 2:15:15, which is several hours before Lt. Bethany Snowden testifies, who is our primary interest in this post. What has been established thus far is that King and Snow were involved in the fatal attack. This is important because not all three bites leading up to the fatal attack involved King and Snow. The defendants also owned Legend and Queen; the ladder dog was involved in an earlier bite. No one dog was involved in all three previous bites before the fatal attack.

“There were a multitude of bites associated with this address and multiple dogs associated in different events,” ACS Director Shannon Sims said.1

This fact comes into play about ACS policy when Snowden testifies. Generally, if one dog had been involved in three previous bites, that would have triggered bite investigators to seek out a Dangerous Dog affidavit from victims and witnesses.

Such an investigation and the declaration of even one of the defendants’ pit bulls deemed “dangerous” might have prevented the fatal attack. As it stands, owners of “multiple” aggressive dogs that bite on separate occasions can more easily flout the law.

This is an ancient dog bite problem that lawmakers refuse to address. When a dog owner has multiple bites “collectively” attributed to him or her over a designated time period from one or more dogs, especially if the bites occurred while the dog was at large, the owners and their dogs should be treated with more scrutiny.

Instead, owners of multiple biting dogs — like the defendants — that bite on separate occasions are afforded more “uncounted” bites prior to a “dangerous” designation.2

Part II: Lt. Bethany Snowden

ACS Lieutenant Bethany Snowden testifies about the previous bites and shows disturbing photographs of the defendants’ home (30 minutes). The video starts when she begins [5:25:38]

Now we address the testimony of Snowden, who is identified in the civil lawsuit. During the hearing, Snowden testified that ACS was understaffed. There were “4 bite investigators” and 40 field officers for the “whole city of San Antonio” from 2020 to 2023. If Bexar County is included, that’s a population of just over 2 million. Snowden testified that there are “260 calls per day,” but this relates to all animal calls, not just dogs. At 5:28:45, Snowden goes through the process of handling a bite call.

Once a bite is proven to have occurred, under state law, the dog must be placed into a 10-day quarantine. “On the 11th day we release the animal” to its owner, Snowden said. If the owner does not reclaim, the dog becomes the property of San Antonio. When the prosecutor asked if the owner can voluntarily surrender his dog at that time, and not retrieve it, she replied, “Yes.” And that can also be done “at any time,” she added. Thus, establishing the defendants could have chosen that route.

Three Previous Bites

The first bite incident occurred on September 11, 2021. David Avilia, 29-years old, was the victim, and the bite was determined to be “mild” on the ACS bite scale. The biting dog was “Queen,” but Snow was also present. ACS impounded Queen for the bite quarantine. Defendant Moreno reclaimed Queen 11 days later, after paying $266 in fees.

The second bite incident occurred 17 days later, on September 28, 2021. Fernando Esparza, 59-years old, was the victim, and the bite was determined to be “mild” on the ACS bite scale. The biting dog was Snow. ACS impounded Snow for the bite quarantine. Defendant Moreno reclaimed Snow 11 days later, after paying $306 in fees.

The third bite incident occurred on January 12, 2023, one month before Ramon Najera was killed. Reynaldo Vega was the victim. The bite was determined to be “moderate” on the ACS bite scale. ACS impounded the dogs involved, King and Snow, for the bite quarantine. Schnieder reclaimed both dogs 11 days later, after paying $427 in fees.

On February 24, 2023, King and Snow brutally killed 81-year old Ramon Najera, critically injured his wife, Janie Najera, and bit and injured two other people at the scene. Making this the “second” unsecured/off-property bite for King and the “third” unsecured/off-property bite for Snow between September 2021 and February 2023.
Exterior, Interior Photos

Snowden was then asked about the images she took of the exterior and interior of the defendants’ home. Snowden did not go to the scene until that evening when it was dark. Defense objected to the interior photos of the home being entered into evidence. Prosecution argued that how the couple kept the inside of their home “could be a contributing factor to the behavior of the dogs, the care of the dogs.” The judge overruled the objections. All of the photographs were allowed into evidence.

At 5:38:26, the prosecutor shows the photographs to the court, beginning with images of the dilapidated, jerry-rigged backyard fence. A dog harness and a cable tether line, not attached to anything, lay on the ground. Prosecution now establishes that while all of the pictures were taken (both outside and inside) there was no working electricity on the property. Snowden took the photographs while using a flashlight. There had been no working electricity on the property for two months.

At 5:40:13, the prosecutor shows a series of interior home photographs. Debris, urine, and feces litter the flooring. The hallway is particularly disturbing, as it is saturated in debris (clothing, junk, trash) at least a foot high, along with feces.

Recall the defendants had four children living in the home up until the fatal mauling. Snowden observed four puppies inside the home during her examination. Snowden testified the puppies were secured inside the home. Prosecution then passed the witness to defense.

Defense Questions Snowden

At 5:44:45, defense questions Snowden, shedding light on strategies that may be used in the civil lawsuit filed against the city. The defense concentrates on the “third bite” that occurred a month before the fatal mauling, arguing, generally, that the injury should have been designated “severe” instead of “moderate,” which would have triggered ACS bite investigators to seek out a Dangerous Dog affidavit from victims and witnesses, leading to the dogs’ euthanasia prior to the fatal attack.

Defense then probes Snowden about the Dangerous Dog affidavit system.

(1) Snowden defaults to the position that the “affidavit has to be prepared by a witness or a victim,”

(2) Snowden defaults to the position that dogs impounded for a bite quarantine “have to be returned [to their owners] because dogs are property,” and

(3) Snowden defaults to the position that “we cannot begin an investigation until an affidavit is received.” Herein lies the rub, as if ACS has no authority to act on their own.

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