LISBON — A woman whose dog was euthanized after attacking and injuring a Beaver Local teacher out for a walk at Lake Tomahawk in May entered a not guilty plea Tuesday to criminal charges related to the incident.

Jill A. Brothers, 62, Tomahawk Drive, Negley, appeared for arraignment in Columbiana County Municipal Court for two counts each of charges of violating vicious, dangerous, nuisance dog acts, a third-degree misdemeanor, and duties after dog bites person, quarantine, a minor misdemeanor. Her defense attorney, Chris Amato, was not in attendance.

Brothers used a walker to enter the courtroom and move about, signing a waiver of her speedy trial rights as she stood at the podium.

Judge Danielle Menning set a $5,000 personal recognizance bond and told her that as a condition of bond, she’s not permitted to have any companion animals of any kind.

A pretrial hearing was set for 9:30 a.m. Aug. 26.

Menning also reviewed the possible penalties with Brothers. For the third-degree misdemeanor for allegedly violating vicious, dangerous, nuisance dog acts, the possible sentence is 60 days in jail, a $500 fine and 200 hours community service. The minor misdemeanor charge related to quarantine duties carries no jail time and a possible $150 fine.

At 4:13 p.m. Friday May 15, the Columbiana County Sheriff’s Office received a call from the East Palestine Police Department advising that a Beaver Local school bus driver reported a woman was attacked by dogs while walking in the area of Tomahawk Drive.

The school bus was able to stop and pick her up, taking her to another address while contacting an EMS crew. The sheriff’s office responded and the dog warden’s office was called and responded, with the two dogs described as male boxer mixes at the time.

The victim of the dog attack, Penny Brown, was identified on social media as a Beaver Local teacher. The sheriff’s report described her injuries as extensive to her arms and the back of her head and to her legs. She was flown by helicopter to St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Youngstown for treatment.

The two dogs were identified as Milo, which was the dog owned by Jill Brothers, and Beau, which was owned by her daughter, Laurel Brothers, of Youngstown.

According to the court affidavit, both dogs came from the residence of Jill Brothers, who lives on Tomahawk Drive. At the time of the attack, Laurel Brothers was in Ireland.

The affidavit said the defendant, Jill Brothers, “negligently failed to prevent the dogs from committing a vicious dog act by failing to keep the dogs contained to her property.”

On the day of the attack, a representative of the Columbiana County Dog Warden’s Office instructed Jill Brothers to quarantine both dogs within her residence and for the dogs not to have contact with each other. The affidavit said on May 22, Columbiana County Dog Warden Heidi Wallace responded to the residence on Tomahawk Drive, Negley to execute a search warrant and neither dog was present when they should have been confined for the required quarantine period.

The dogs were each designated as vicious dogs and both Jill and Laurel filed civil complaints in county Municipal Court against the dog warden to challenge the designation. Jill dropped her appeal first and had her dog, Milo, euthanized, which was confirmed by the dog warden.

Laurel also dropped her appeal, but since her address was listed in Mahoning County, Wallace confirmed that she notified the dog warden in Mahoning County about the vicious designation for Laurel’s dog, Beau. The dropping of the appeal now means her dog is designated as vicious, meaning she’ll have to carry $100,000 liability insurance, with the potential threat of impoundment/euthanasia.

The status of her dog Beau remains unknown at this point. Wallace said the dog, Beau, is registered in Mahoning County, in both Laurel’s name and Jill’s name. A call to the Mahoning County Dog Warden’s office was unanswered Tuesday.

According to the Columbiana County Auditor’s Office, Jill Brothers had permanent licenses for three dogs, including Milo, now deceased, Cooper and a different dog named Bo.

When contacted about the criminal case, county Prosecutor Vito Abruzzino said the charges couldn’t be felonies because the dogs had not been designated as vicious at the time of the attack.

mgreier@mojonews.com