Dog locked in hot car Brooksville, FL (US) Incident Date: Thursday, Nov 2, 2006 County: Hernando Local Map: available Disposition: Alleged Alleged: Linda Grass

Case ID: 9955 Classification: Neglect / Abandonment Animal: dog (non pit-bull) View more cases in FL (US) Login to Watch this Case

It started as a warning about taking care of animals and ended with a 58-year-old woman hit by a stun gun and arrested.

Linda Grass, of 7181 Daffodil Drive, is charged with animal cruelty and resisting arrest after a deputy reported on Nov 2 finding Grass�s dog desperately panting inside a car at the Wal-Mart Supercenter on Broad Street.

The windows were cracked 6 inches in the mid-afternoon�s 87-degree heat.

Sheriff�s Lt. Cinda Moore took the black dog from Grass�s car after waiting 15 minutes for Grass to come out of the store.

She gave the dog water, which he lapped up enthusiastically.

Another 15 minutes passed before Grass came out and saw the deputy with her dog. Deputy Moore explained it was unsafe to leave a dog inside a vehicle, given Florida�s hot weather.

Grass "became very irate, yelling at me that she had done this several times, even before I was born," Moore said.

Grass got into her car as Moore walked around back to write down the gray 1994 Volvo�s tag. Grass put her car in reverse and tried to back up, according to Moore.

The deputy smacked the vehicle with her hand and ordered Grass to put the car back in park. Grass hopped out of the car and said her blood sugar was low, so Moore let her rifle through her groceries for something to eat.

By this time, a Brooksville police officer arrived, along with another deputy. Moore wrote a misdemeanor citation and gave it to Grass, who refused to sign it, saying she would rather go to jail.

Deputy Moore put her left hand on Grass�s right shoulder and grabbed Grass�s right wrist to escort her into her car. Grass began flailing her arms, screaming that Moore was hurting her.

The other deputy grabbed Grass and the two managed to get her to the ground. Grass continued to scream as they put her in handcuffs. The deputies let Grass rest on the ground at her request, but then Grass slipped her right hand out of the handcuffs and began tussling with the deputies again.

Grass was warned that she was about to be Tasered, but when Grass continued to resist, the other deputy zapped her for about four seconds in the small of her back.

Grass dropped to the ground where she was handcuffed a second time. She remains in jail on $1,000 bond.

Her dog was handed over to Animal Services.

Neighborhood Map

For more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.

Back to Top

Add this case to:

Del.icio.us

|

Digg

|

Furl

|

References

Hernando Today

« FL State Animal Cruelty Map

Not sure what these icons mean? Click here.

Note: Classifications and other fields should not be used to determine what specific charges the suspect is facing or was convicted of - they are for research and statistical purposes only. The case report and subsequent updates outline the specific charges. Charges referenced in the original case report may be modified throughout the course of the investigation or trial, so case updates, when available, should always be considered the most accurate reflection of charges.

For more information regarding classifications and usage of this database, please visit the database notes and disclaimer.