VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – The owner of a dog that Volusia County deputies said killed an 8-year-old boy in DeLand has been arrested again — this time on drug charges, according to jail records obtained by News 6.
The woman — identified as 41-year-old Brandy Franco (previously Brandy Hodil) — now faces charges of advertising drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription.
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Records show that Franco was taken into custody on Thursday, and she is held on bond of $3,000.
[PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Trial delayed in DeLand dog attack death case, family demands justice and new charges]
Last year, deputies revealed that 8-year-old Michael Millet was riding his bike in DeLand when dogs escaped from a nearby property and fatally attacked him.
Since then, Franco and another woman — identified as Amanda Franco — were identified by law enforcement as the dog owners, and both face tampering charges after allegedly deleting Facebook messages about the dogs’ troubles.
Amanda Franco faces an additional charge under the Dangerous Dogs Act for an “attack or bite by unclassified dog that causes severe injury or death.”
News 6 also obtained screenshots of the deleted conversations.
They show a history of neighbors telling Amanda Franco the dogs got out.
One message from November 2024 shows Amanda Franco talking about the dogs escaping their property and attacking and killing neighbor’s chickens.
Then, messages from the day of the attack show Brandy Franco surprised the dogs got out again and attacked.
The state attorney’s office has said prosecutors reviewed the case for months and considered manslaughter charges, but they concluded there was not enough evidence to prove culpable negligence beyond a reasonable doubt — a must for manslaughter — and they are bound by Florida statutes and laws.
Their statement said, “Culpable negligence requires proof that a person wantonly and consciously followed a course of conduct that the defendant knew, or reasonably should have known, was likely to cause death or great bodily injury to another.”