A woman in Pennsylvania has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after she broke into a home, stabbed a dog to death, and bit two people, reports People Magazine. 26-year-old Breanna Englert pleaded guilty to eight separate criminal offenses, including cruelty to animals, criminal trespass, and simple assault. The incident took place in South Renovo in April of this year.
Dog suffered seizures after being stabbed
According to a news release shared by the Clinton County District Attorney’s Office, Englert broke into the house, following which the homeowners and a neighbor confronted her. She later stabbed the homeowner’s dog, who then suffered seizures and died after a short while. Englert also bit two people, who later received medical attention. At the time, Englert “was believed to have been under the influence of controlled substances.”
At the sentencing hearing, District Attorney Dave Strouse asked for a maximum of 25 years. He said Englert should be thankful to her “lucky stars” for being alive since “in many of the other homes in Clinton County that she could have broken into, she would have died that night.”
Previously, Englert had two convictions for simple assault, which Strouse mentioned at the hearing. In fact, at the time of the attack, she was under the supervision of the Clinton County Adult Probation Department.
One of the victims, a retired school teacher, also spoke about Englert’s criminal history in court. “You invited us into your world, we never invited you into ours,” she said. “You broke into our house with a knife.”
Continuing, she shared, “If it wasn’t for our neighbors, I don’t know what would have happened. I truly believe our neighbors saved our lives that night.”
The incident has traumatized her grandchildren, who continue to have issues being in certain parts of her house.
Englert broke into tears and expressed her apologies to the victims. She further requested the court to allow her to complete her drug rehabilitation programs, attributing her criminal history to her methamphetamine and prescription drug addiction.
