Thread: Owners plead not guilty in pit bull attack

Owners plead not guilty in pit bull attack

By Pauline Repard and Dana Littlefield
Originally published 11:04 p.m., June 29, 2011, updated 3:32 p.m., June 30, 2011

SAN DIEGO — A San Diego woman and her daughter were charged Thursday with owning two pit bulls that badly mauled a 75-year-old neighbor on June 18, the second time in 30 years that county animal control has filed felony charges against a dog owner.

Alba Cornelio, 39, and her daughter, Carla Cornelio, 19, pleaded not guilty to felony charges of owning dogs that caused serious bodily injury. They face up to three years and eight months in prison if convicted.

In 2006, a Valley Center man was sentenced to 90 days in jail after his two boxers tore into a veterinarian as she was walking near her home with her two sons.

The Cornelios were arrested on Wednesday evening at their Alleghany Street home in San Diego's Paradise Hills neighborhood.

In court on Thursday, they each were charged with two felony counts and three misdemeanor counts of failing to protect the public from a dog, knowingly owning a dangerous dog and violating leash laws.

San Diego Superior Court Judge David Szumowski set bail at $350,000 for both women. However, Alba Cornelio, a Mexican national, has an immigration hold while Immigration and Customs Enforcement determines whether she is subject to deportation, an agency spokeswoman said.

Prosecutor Mackenzie Harvey argued for high bail, saying the women own a home in Mexico and posed a flight risk.

Harvey also detailed Mendoza’s severe injuries, saying surgeons had to amputate her left leg below the knee and left arm below the elbow. Her right leg is infected and will undergo an operation in the next eight to 10 days, Harvey said.

Authorities said the dogs got through a hole in a fence in their backyard and attacked Emako Mendoza. The dog owners authorized animal services officers to euthanize the animals.

Records show that both pit bulls owned by the Cornelios also attacked a neighbor and his dog last Christmas, animal services Lt. Dan De Sousa said.

pauline.repard@uniontrib.com; (619) 293-1865

dana.littlefield@uniontrib.com; (619) 293-1287

Staff writer Susan Shroder contributed to this report.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011 ... ll-attack/

This has been a huge news story in our area. Poor woman!