LI Woman Gets 8 Months For Probation Violation In Connection With Plea In Dog Mauling Case: DA

RIVERSIDE, NY — A Mastic woman was sentenced to eight months in jail after violating the conditions of her three-year probation in connection with her pitbull mauling a toddler and his uncle outside her home, Suffolk District Attorney Ray Tierney said Thursday.

Amy Willi, 48, of 2024, Willi pleaded guilty to second-degree reckless endangerment in 2024 after her male pitbull, Kojo, mauled the pair in the 2023 incident.

Patch has reached out to her attorney, Daniel Sullivan of Central Islip.

Tierney said her "repeated disregard for court orders, the rule of law and public safety is unacceptable."

“After pleading guilty to recklessly allowing her violent dog to attack a toddler and the child’s uncle, the defendant failed to comply with virtually any of the terms of her probation," he said. "This sentence ensures real consequences for her actions and further protects the public.”

On March 14, 2023, Willi failed to adequately secure Kojo inside of her home, and opened the front door, when the two-year-old boy was playing in the front yard of his home
across the street, prosecutors said.

Kojo dashed out the front door and ran straight towards the child, according to prosecutors. The toddler’s uncle, who had
been watching him, picked up his nephew to protect him from the dog, and Kojo bit the uncle on his left forearm, causing the toddler to fall to the ground, prosecutors said, adding that Kojo then bit the boy multiple times on his face, head, and body, causing lacerations to his right eye, cheek, scalp, and leg.

The attack stopped when several family members ran outside the home and forced the dog to release the child, according to prosecutors. The toddler was rushed to the emergency room at Stony Brook University Hospital, where he received stitches for his injuries, prosecutors said, adding that Willi admitted to law enforcement that she knew Kojo was a dangerous dog with violent tendencies.

The dog was later found abandoned and brought to a local shelter where he attacked a staff member and ultimately had to be euthanized, according to prosecutors.

On April 28, 2025, Willi was sentenced to three years of supervision by the Suffolk County Department of Probation and agreed to abide by a series of probationary conditions, including 320 hours of community service, reporting to a probation officer, refraining from alcohol and narcotics, and complying with a treatment program.

Willi was also not permitted to own, possess, or care for any animals for three years.

Over the course of several months, she failed to comply with virtually any of the conditions of her probation, outside of not owning or possessing an animal, and as a result, the Department of Probation filed a Violation of Probation action against her.

She was subsequently arraigned and remanded in April 2026.

On Wednesday, she admitted to violating the conditions of probation.