SAN ANTONIO — Heather Rodriquez, 37, was sentenced to 14 years in prison on June 1, 2026, by Judge Joel Perez of Bexar County’s 437th Criminal District Court for child endangerment that led to the fatal dog attack on 1-year-old Jiryiah Johnson. Rodriquez had taken a plea deal on March 26, 2026, resolving charges of endangering an injured child in imminent danger, a second-degree felony, and child endangerment, a state jail felony.
Jiryiah Johnson died on October 8, 2024, one day after being attacked by three dogs on October 7, 2024, while in Rodriquez’s care at a home in the 9700 block of Spruce Ridge Drive in northeast Bexar County. Authorities said Rodriquez left the toddler in a room and placed her 13-year-old daughter in charge of babysitting before leaving the home. The teenager tried to protect Jiryiah during the attack, but deputies described the dogs forcing their way into the room.
Rodriquez was arrested two months after the incident. She originally faced charges of attack by dog resulting in death, reckless injury to a child, and child abandonment and endangerment. Without the plea deal, she could have received up to 20 years on the most serious charge alone.
During sentencing, Perez remarked, “That is very, to me, very telling about her true character. For her to be concerned about the dogs, I find just very, very, very aggravating.” Rodriquez appeared emotional during victim impact statements delivered by Jiryiah’s parents, Julian Johnson and Erika Castro.
“This pain I have is something that’s tortuous. It’s a void that’s inside of me that keeps swallowing every bit of joy in life,” Julian Johnson said. He added, “This all could have been avoided with a 30-second phone call because we would have left work without hesitation. God forgives everybody, but I can’t.”