Inset: Megan Mileskiewicz (Hernando County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The Florida residence where Mileskiewicz was arrested (Google Maps).
A Florida woman is behind bars after stabbing her boyfriend’s pit bull over and over, according to Sunshine State law enforcement.
Megan Lynn Mileskiewicz, 23, stands accused of one count each of torturing or inflicting pain on an animal and causing serious injury, and resisting arrest, according to Hernando County jail records.
The incident allegedly occurred on Dec. 29, according to a press release issued by the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office.
Late in the morning, at around 10:42 a.m., 911 dispatch received a call about a woman “repeatedly stabbing her live-in boyfriend’s dog inside the home,” according to the press release.
Responding deputies are said to have met up with more than one witness. The incident occurred at a residence on Rusk Circle in Spring Hill – a large, census-designated place situated among Florida’s Nature Coast region and part of the broader Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area.
The attack allegedly happened in front of multiple family members, deputies allege, and one friend of the family.
Those witnesses then directed deputies to the rear of the house. Mileskiewicz had fled through the back door, the witnesses said.
The pursuit was allegedly not a lengthy affair.
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“Deputies quickly located Mileskiewicz hiding behind a tool shed in the backyard, face down on the ground surrounded by some shrubbery,” the press release reads. “When Mileskiewicz refused to comply with verbal commands to crawl out of the bushes, deputies physically removed her from her hiding spot and took her into custody.”
Law enforcement said the dog was a 2-year-old boy who suffered two distinct lacerations. The wounds were described as “approximately 2 to 3 inches long near his backside.”
The injuries sustained by the dog were not life-threatening, the sheriff’s office added. The wounds were, however, “actively bleeding” when law enforcement arrived, deputies allege.
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When asked to account for the attack, Mileskiewicz allegedly admitted fault, according to the sheriff’s office.
The defendant, after being Mirandized, allegedly told police the pit bull was “bothering” her and that she became “upset.”
At least one witness, however, contradicted that account.
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“A witness advised Mileskiewicz, without warning, became angry at the dog and armed herself with a pocketknife and began attempting to stab the dog,” the press release goes on. “Upon seeing Mileskiewicz repeatedly stab at the dog, the witness called 9-1-1.”
A probable cause affidavit obtained by Law&Crime elaborates on the narrative one witness provided:
The key witness stated that she was sitting in a chair in the southwest bedroom of the home while the dog and defendant were within only a few feet of her. The witness provided a sworn written statement testifying that the defendant, without warning, became angry at the dog while he was being playful around her. The defendant obtained what was described as a common pocket folding knife with a black grip and black blade, approximately 2-3 inches long, and began attempting to stab and excessively and repeatedly harm the dog numerous times; however, she was only able to strike the dog twice. This violent act caused a minor amount of blood to land on the witness’s clothing. 911 was then called, at which point the defendant fled.
Small amounts of blood was observed on the dog bed, wall and floor of the closet when the dog retreated to after being harmed.
Continuing to explain her role in the violence, Mileskiewicz allegedly told investigators she “made a mistake.”
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The name of the wounded dog in question is “dog,” according to the court document.
Mileskiewicz is currently being detained in the Hernando County Detention Center, jail records show. Her bail is set at $3,500. She has applied for a public defender on the basis of being indigent, court records show.
The defendant is slated to appear in court for her arraignment on Jan. 28.
