Woman arrested after hit-and-run, accused of abusing dogs in Lehigh Acres

LEE COUNTY, Fla. — A 21-year-old woman is facing multiple felony charges after a hit-and-run crash and an alleged animal abuse incident in Lehigh Acres, according to Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno.

Marceno said deputies initially responded to a hit-and-run crash near Loyola Avenue and Vesper Court.

Multiple witnesses reported seeing a woman run out of nearby woods and flee the scene on foot.

A short time later, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office received another call from a homeowner on Thompson Street, according to Marceno.

The homeowner reported finding a woman in her backyard washing her feet in the pool.

When the homeowner confronted the woman for trespassing, the suspect allegedly began attacking the homeowner’s three dogs, Marceno said.

According to the sheriff, the suspect grabbed a Great Dane by the mouth and pulled on it, stomped on a Yorkie, and struck a third dog. Marceno said follow-up examinations showed the dogs were not injured.

The suspect, identified by the sheriff as Doris Sebastian, was taken into custodyt. Marceno said deputies described her demeanor as compliant but appearing “almost like she wasn’t all there.”

“She was the one that caused the hit-and-run crash,” Marceno said, adding that investigators determined Sebastian failed to stop at a stop sign, caused a two-vehicle crash, and fled the scene.

Marceno said Sebastian has no prior criminal history and may have been experiencing a mental health episode at the time of the incidents. He said substances are not believed to be a confirmed factor, though the investigation is ongoing.

Sebastian now faces three counts of felony aggravated animal abuse, according to the sheriff.