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Woman arrested after offering to walk neighbors' dog and then disappearing for hours

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — An Ocala woman is in the St. Johns County jail Wednesday after disappearing with a woman’s dog.

Christina Brady, 46, is facing several charges including the assault of an officer and larceny.

Marcia Dooly said it all began when a ‘bubbly, friendly woman’ showed up at her home, introducing herself as a new neighbor.

Dooly lives in Summer Haven with her 4-year-old Great Dane.

“He watches out for me, he’s more or less my guard dog,” Dooly said.

A woman came to Dooly’s door Monday and introduced herself as a new neighbor.

Dooly mentioned that Max's dog walker was out of town. That’s when the Brady offered to take him for a walk.

“I said ‘well OK, just go around the block that will be fine.’ She said, ‘Oh but first I have to go to Vilano Beach,’” Dooly explained.

“She had a great big white Jeep and she proceeded to, with him on the leash, put him in the back of her Jeep and take off,” Dooly said.

She yelled after her, but the woman told Dooly she would be back in an hour.

“Well the hour came and went and it became two and then three hours and I was really alarmed,” Dooly said.

After three hours, Dooly called the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office. In the meantime, Brady returned with the dog.

Deputies say she also backed her Jeep into a neighbors’ home, became aggressive and resisted arrest, scratching and ripping a deputy's uniform. The deputy noted on the report that the suspect has done this before -- approaching homes, claiming that she’s buying property nearby.

Brady was also arrested last month by St. Augustine Beach police for trespassing.

Dooly says she should not have trusted a stranger, and believes senior citizens are often targeted.

“It's a dangerous thing, I should have never let my dog go with her. I think there are too many valuable lessons here about vulnerability, gullibility, and of course, to call the Sheriff's Department,” Dooly said.

Brady is currently in the St. Johns County detention center. Her bond is set at nearly $10,000.