2024 Dog Bite Fatality: Babysitter's XL Pit Bulls Kill Baby, Attack Teenager Inside Home in Bexar County, Texas

Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar press conference after Heather Rodriguez is perp walked.

Babysitter Arrested
Bexar County, TX - On Monday, multiple pit bulls of the XL variety attacked a baby boy and a 13-year old, who had been left to look after him. The baby did not survive. Prior to the baby dying, police arrested Heather Rodriguez, 36, in connection to the attack and charged her with serious bodily injury by omission, which carries 5 to 99 year penalty. Rodriguez was supposed to be babysitting. Instead, she left the baby with her 13-year old daughter. Rodriguez was not home when the dogs attacked.

Investigators said the two children were sequestered in a room when the dogs forced their way inside through a door the dogs had previously damaged. Sheriff Javier Salazar said there was a "tug-of-war" between the teen and one of the dogs, until she was able to flee into a bathroom with the baby. Soon after, the dogs forced themselves inside. The teen had to leave the baby with the dogs to get her cell phone to call for help. Then she came back and "barricaded the door using her body," he said.

"Do not go through the front door," states the dispatcher for Bexar County Fire and EMS. "They are advising to go through a window upstairs. The dogs are not letting the complainant out of the room, or anyone into the residence."1

Salazar also said the dogs chased the teen from room to room. She even held the baby above her head. "She made every effort possible, even lifting that baby up over her head...the dog actually climbed up onto something and was able to get the baby out of her hand and tear the baby out of her hand, this little girl was put in a situation where she went from that bedroom, to a bathroom, to another bedroom and was chased every step of the way by these dogs who were continuing to bite her."

The attack occurred around 10:00 am in the 9700 block of Spruce Ridge Drive near Converse. The baby was transported to San Antonio Military Medical Center (SAMMC) with severe head and throat injuries, where he later died. On Tuesday, the Bexar County Medical Examiner identified the boy as Jiryiah Johnson. He died on Monday shortly before 9:30 pm. Sheriff Salazar said the attack lasted about two minutes. Salazar said Rodriguez had previously been cited for the dogs' running at large.

Four XL bullies were seized from the home, but not without resistance. Rodriguez "didn't want to give us the dogs," Salazar said. She even tried to barter. "Okay we're just going to give you this one but not these others," Salazar mimicked. The deputies stepped in and took the dogs by force. At least three of the dogs were present and/or participated in the attack. Rodriguez has been uncooperative with investigators. "She refused to give a statement. She didn't have anything to say to us," Salazar said.

Bexar County Sheriff's Office released crime scene aftermath images of the interior of the home.

Thank you so much for joining us. We wanted to show you this suspect, but also to clarify some information that was given to us preliminarily...Heather Rodriguez, which is the 36-year-old female that you just met, she is not related biologically to the baby. She is in fact, in my understanding a caregiver. This morning, she took custody of the child for purposes of babysitting. At a certain point, we're still trying to determine at what point that was, Miss Rodriguez left the house and left the baby in custody of her, Heather's, 13-year-old daughter. That 13-year-old and the baby were in a bedroom. My understanding is that there was an effort to keep the baby sequestered from the dogs because these dogs were known to cause damage. At a certain point, the little girl, the 13-year-old, was in the bedroom with the one-year-old little boy when the dogs forced their way into the room. My understanding is that the door leading into that room was already damaged by the dogs at some point before that rendered it not completely secure. The dogs were able to force their way into the bedroom, and at that point began biting the baby.

The 13-year-old was able to maintain control of the baby but at this point, and what's being described to me is it was almost a tug-of-war for the baby between at least one of the dogs and the little girl. At a certain point, additional dogs came into the room as well. Then they joined in the attack. The little girl then spent several minutes trying to fight them off. She was able to get the baby and herself into a bedroom -- or I'm sorry a bathroom attached to that bedroom. The dogs also went into that bathroom. They forced their way into the bathroom. They then began to resume their attack on not just the baby but also on the 13-year-old. She was also bitten in the process.

At a certain point she had to break away and physically left the baby behind in the bathroom being attacked while she went to go get her cell phone to call for help. She was able to grab her cell phone, come back and resume fighting with the dogs over the baby. At a certain point she was able to call for help. She then took the baby and went into another bedroom, at which point she was able to put the baby on the floor and barricade the door using her body to prevent the dogs from coming into that bedroom. When deputies arrived, that's when they were able to come in, take custody of the scene, take control of the scene. They found the baby there. Began first aid. Called for EMS, who was there pretty quickly. EMS was able to transport the baby to the hospital. From what we understand about the baby right now, definitely critical condition. My understanding is that they were not able to get the baby stabilized enough to move to University [Hospital], as we were hoping for, but rather they maintained care of the baby there at SAMMC.

The injuries are pretty substantial. I've actually seen some pictures of the baby gleaned from our body camera video of the deputies, and it's heartbreaking. To see anybody in that condition -- even more so a one-year-old baby -- pretty severe head injuries. My understanding is that the baby's throat and airway are actually damaged to the point where the baby's not able to breathe through normal means. Obviously, they've had to do some surgical intervention to allow that to happen. My understanding is that the actual parents of the baby are now at the hospital.

My understanding is that...this dog had some sort of history prior to this happening. In April, the sheriff's office was dispatched for loose dogs, and the dogs were keeping the caller inside his car. In other words, they were not letting him get out of his car. They were barking and growling at him. He was afraid for his safety, did not get out of the car, and called for us. We were able to show up and get the dogs away and allow that caller to get out of the car. The dogs were secured, and at that point Miss Rodriguez was actually cited for having dogs running free of restraint. In other words, unleashed dogs. She was allowed to maintain custody the dogs at that point.

My understanding is that the parents knew that Miss Rodriguez had dogs, but they did not know that the dogs were problematic. I'm led to believe they would not have let her care for their baby...had they known these dogs were unsafe.

At any rate, the parents are with the baby at this point, and Miss Rodriguez, it is our intent, as she's being transported over to south tower, our intent is to book her for injury to a child with serious bodily injury by omission. It's a first-degree felony. She may face additional charges for the injuries sustained by her own daughter, the 13-year-old. I've got to be honest. The 13-year-old in this instance is absolutely, I'm considering her a hero. I think that that her actions led to that baby not being mauled even more seriously or even killed as a result of this savage dog attack. So this little girl, unfortunately she sustained injuries herself. I believe she's going to have some lasting psychological effects as a result of it, but I do I consider her a hero. CPS is actually involved in this case as well not just for the welfare of the baby himself but additionally...the 13-year-old.

It's a certainly a heartbreaking situation for all. Again, Heather Rodriguez will be booked, and our intent is to book her for injury to a child, serious bodily injury. That's pending if the DA's office will accept that charge...

Responses to media questions:

Q: Are the baby's injuries life-threatening?

A: The baby boy is in critical, life-threatening injuries, definitely life-threatening injuries.

Q: Do we know the extent of the 13-year-old injuries?

A: My understanding is that she was...it's horrible to say. She was covered in blood, but I think the majority of that blood belonged to the baby. She was injured. I don't believe she was injured so much to the point where she had to be hospitalized...She was left there at the house. CPS, once they get over there, may determine that she needs to be hospitalized...or at least removed from the home...Again, I consider her a hero in this situation. She got left in a pretty bad situation for any 13-year-old to be left in charge of a baby like that, but in a house full of vicious dogs. What did this lady, the suspect, think was going to happen?

Q: You called the 13-year-old a hero. How long do you think she went back and forth with this dog before she was able to call 911?

A: It was about two minutes. All said and done, this attack was about two minutes. The dogs, I haven't seen the dogs, but they're described to me as XL pits of bulldogs. They're very thick very heavy muscular dogs. So, for a 13-year-old little girl, I haven't seen how big she, is but for her to be able to fight...Two minutes is a long time to fight when you're outnumbered. We're talking at least two, possibly three dogs that she was fighting with, probably each weighing more than she did...My understanding is it's four dogs...This is not the first time being babysat...

Q: Do we know if all four dogs took part in the attack?

A: At this point, no. I believe at least two. But it's possible all four of them may have...We'll see what ends up happening. Obviously for any dog that took part in it needs to be put down. I don't think there's any scenario in which we could see giving any of these dogs back...That's outside our hands it's up to animal control to determine which dogs were involved...

Q: Question [regarding the babysitter, dog owner]
Initially we thought she was related to the baby. We come to find out that she's not. What I can tell you is that at that scene they really gave our deputies a hard time as far as they...didn't want to give us the dogs.
Then it was, "Okay we're just going to give you this one but not these others." The deputies stepped in and said no, "we're going to take all the dogs." We took them all. If we're able to find out that one of the dogs or several of the dogs were not responsible for it then fine perhaps those can go back. You know she seemed to be more concerned with what was going on with those dogs than with the fact that that her inaction, her omissions, almost caused the death of a baby and still might, God forbid...At this point, I believe we're trying to find out if she went to work or went to run an errand, but certainly nothing could be so important that you would endanger the life of a baby like that.

Q: We also don't know how long she was gone from the house?

A: We don't.

Q: Seems like she is not cooperating?

A: Oh, she came down with us, and she refused to give a statement. She didn't have anything to say to us...

Q: Can you just talk about the state of Bexar County in San Antonio with it seems dog attacks happen unfortunately once a week?

A: Sure. It's something that we are seeing way too often. I think the whole system -- city, county, statewide -- I think all of us could stand to tighten things down a bit. We know that it's a continuing issue with us. At present, we're looking at our own internal policies, and [asking] what can we do? Unfortunately, in this situation, Animal Control doesn't answer to me or my agency. We do what we can to work with them. So we'll see what we can do to tighten up our part of the process. All the indicators are that they'll work with us, but we just need to see how we can work better together to prevent these things from happening...it is something that we're seeing with much more frequency -- dog attacks on the elderly, dog attacks on babies. It's not something that we can continue to just let the status quo..

The Dogs, Owners & Breeders

Last night, we began researching the owners and the potential breeders of these dogs. Heather Rodriguez and Jason Reddick are both associated to the address where the attack occurred. Reddick promotes "SnowStorm Bullies." Both of them have photographs of "SnowStorm's Scooby Doo," the celebrated male stud dog, on Facebook as recently as January for Reddick. Two other dogs we believe were seized at the scene are "Queen Monae," and a possible female offspring named "Monae."

That said, given the nature of "tight" XL bully breedings, all of the dogs seized could be offspring of Scooby Doo or Queen Monae that share similar markings. However, given Rodriguez's behavior of refusing to give up the dogs and "bartering" with deputies, so that she could at least keep one or two of them, indicates to us she wanted to hold onto the moneymaker(s) for future breedings. Salazar was stunned by her behavior. Unfortunately, we are not. Currently, Rodriguez is still sitting in a jail cell.

"House Lions" Aren't Safe

This teenager is lucky to be alive. In 2022, a family with two "house lions," as the father called their XL bullies, killed both of their children -- Hollace and Lilly Bennard -- and critically injured their mother. When Salazar spoke about the child's mother, he said, "The parents knew that Miss Rodriguez had dogs, but they did not know that the dogs were problematic. I'm led to believe they would not have let her care for their baby...had they known these dogs were unsafe." House lions, generally, are unsafe.

Salazar also mentioned the "DA's office." Yes, it's the same DA's office -- Bexar County District Attorney's Office -- that recently prosecuted Christian Moreno and Abilene Schnieder in connection to the death of Ramon Najera. He was brutally killed by two pit bulls in February 2023. Our nonprofit just ran a 4-part series about the trial. Finally, Salazar said, "Animal Control doesn't answer to me or my agency." Our question to Salazar is why not? Perhaps BCSO should have a Vicious Dog Unit?

Various Clarifications

Salazar clarified that Rodriguez and her 13-year old daughter are not related to the victim, Jiryiah Johnson. Rodriguez lives in the home where the attack occurred. This is not the first time the victim was being babysat at the home (13:50). Rodriguez may face additional charges for the injuries sustained by her own daughter. The relationship between Rodriguez and Reddick is still unclear -- but Reddick does state that he can be contacted for selling XL pit-bulldogs from SnowStorm Bullies.

According to online records from the Bexar County court system, Rodriguez was charged with one count of felony injury to child/elderly/disabled reckless; one count of abandoned/endanger child (imminent danger, bodily injury), a second-degree felony; and injury to child/elderly/disabled with intent for serious bodily injury, a first-degree felony. A defense attorney has been appointed to her. A special condition bond has been created: no possession of firearms, no alcohol, no contact order.

SnowStorm's Scooby Doo is featured on Rodriguez's and Reddick's Facebook pages.

SnowStorm's Queen Monae is featured on Rodriguez's and Reddick's Facebook pages.

Possibly an offspring of "Queen Monae," this female dog's name is simply "Monae."

View the DogsBite.org Google State Map: Texas Fatal Pit Bull Attacks.

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