A woman arrested 20 times before was arrested after biting her pit bull in a vicious and bizarre attack on the Upper East Side, where she callously told police, “That's my job. I bite dogs,” according to prosecutors and sources.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Manhattan Criminal Court, Jillian Teixeria, 24, is accused of grabbing a brown female dog by its ears and biting its head on East 86th Street near Lexington Avenue around 6:15 p.m. Saturday.
Prosecutors say the brutal attack left the poor puppy screaming loudly and bleeding from his head and ears.
When officers arrived, Teixeria admitted to biting the dog but mounted a vehement defense, Assistant District Attorney William Eddy said at Teixeria's arraignment Monday.
“That's the way I am. I bite my dog,” Teixeria said, according to the ADA.
“What should I do? Should I hit her? She has a rash and is bleeding.”
Officials said the injured dog was taken to a veterinary hospital.
Teixeria was arrested and charged with excessive driving and torturing and injuring an animal (misdemeanors) and Judge Michael Ryan ordered him held on $1 bail.
The move came after prosecutors requested that Teixeria be held on $5,000 cash, $15,000 insurance bond and $15,000 partial secured bond, the district attorney's office said in a statement.
But the same judge also ordered Teixeira held on the same bail for an assault case in which he allegedly threw an ice cream container at a man's face on April 8, prosecutors said.
Monday marked her first criminal court appearance in connection with the April incident.
She was on probation for allegedly shoplifting and assaulting a Harlem Food Dynasty employee in December 2022, according to prosecutors.
Teixeria is a Bronx resident who identifies as female, uses the pronouns “she/her,” and is also listed as Julianne in some records.
According to police sources, she was previously arrested in the Bronx on March 18 of last year on animal cruelty-related charges.
Several of her previous arrests were for failing to appear in court in Queens, according to law enforcement sources.
During a court appearance in Manhattan on Monday, prosecutors said she had missed 16 court appearances in cases across New York.
According to sources, she has been arrested on charges of assault, intimidation, robbery, petty theft and criminal contempt dating back to 2018.
She is next scheduled to appear in court on Friday in connection with three Manhattan cases.
