Source: Woman accused in deadly dog attack takes plea deal, potential sentence tops out at 14 years

BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – A woman accused of allowing three dogs to attack and kill a 1-year-old boy in 2024 took a plea deal earlier this week.

Heather Rodriquez, 37, took the deal on Thursday. According to Bexar County court records, Rodriquez is facing two charges:

• Endangering an injured child in imminent danger, a second-degree felony
• Child endangerment, a state jail felony

A prison sentence for a second-degree felony tends to range from two to 20 years behind bars.

While she has yet to be sentenced, a source told KSAT terms of Rodriquez’s plea deal state that she could receive a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.

Rodriquez will appear in court for her official sentencing on June 1.

According to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, Rodriquez was tasked with babysitting Jiryiah Johnson, 1, on Oct. 7, 2024 at a home in the 9700 block of Spruce Ridge Drive in northeast Bexar County.

However, authorities said she decided to sequester Johnson in a room and left her 13-year-old daughter in charge of babysitting before Rodriquez left the home.

The teenager tried to protect Johnson, but authorities said it was a “tug of war” between her and the three dogs. Sheriff’s deputies said the dogs forced their way into the room. Johnson was pronounced dead on Oct. 8, 2024.

Ten days after the attack, a judge ordered the three dogs to be euthanized.

In May 2025, Johnson’s parents filed a $1 million wrongful death lawsuit against Rodriquez and Blackstone Inc., the rental company that owns and manages the home on Spruce Ridge Drive.

More coverage of this story on KSAT:

• Bexar County parents file $1 million lawsuit after son was fatally mauled by 3 dogs
• Bexar County woman indicted by grand jury in dog attack that killed 1-year-old boy, records show
• Bexar County judge denies woman’s request to lower bond in deadly dog attack case
• ‘It hasn’t gotten any easier’: Father of 1-year-old boy killed in dog attack speaks
• Babysitter arrested after dogs attack baby, leaving child with life-threatening injuries
• 3 dogs euthanized after attack that killed 1-year-old boy
• BCSO files two new charges against babysitter arrested for dog attack that killed 1-year-old
• Judge orders three dogs to be euthanized after attack that killed 1-year-old boy
• ‘A heartbreaking scenario’: Sheriff Salazar describes mauling death of 1-year-old boy
• 1-year-old baby attacked by dogs dies, ID’d by Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office