Next to last paragraph reads: "Police said that last Sept. 8, Smith put on a blonde wig disguise and went to Strohl's house, where she pulled out the handgun and shot Strohl in the chest. Doctors had to remove Strohl's spleen, one of her kidneys and part of her pancreas."

Dispute over dog. Brenda L. Smith injured canine's owner a few months after being bitten by the animal.

EASTON | A 54-year-old Northampton Borough woman pleaded guilty Monday to shooting her neighbor over a dog bite and holding a second woman hostage to secure a statement from her.

Brenda L. Smith pleaded guilty before Northampton County Judge Stephen G. Baratta to one count of attempted homicide and burglary. A charge of unlawful restraint was dropped as part of the plea bargain.

Smith, a retired Bethlehem Steel worker, faces a maximum of 40 years in state prison. She must serve at least five years because of a mandatory minimum sentence associated with the crimes.

Although she pleaded guilty to trying to kill Jennifer Strohl, Smith repeatedly told Baratta her gun went off during a struggle.

"She grabbed the gun," Smith said. "It went off when she grabbed it."

Smith also disputed the burglary charge, saying she went into Dottiemae Jacobs' home on East 24th Street with a pair of weapons to coerce a statement from Jacobs but didn't believe that it was a crime.

"I entered the home but not with the intent to commit a crime," she said.

When Baratta said he might not be willing to accept her guilty plea, Smith conferred with defense attorney James Connell and admitted to committing the crimes.

Smith said during the hearing that she has suffered from depression for 12 years and was on medication the day of the shooting. She admitted she got angry after being bit by one of Strohl's three dogs a few months earlier and went to the home in the 2300 block of Dewey Avenue to kill the dog.

Both Strohl, who was 20 when she was shot, and Jacobs attended the hearing but did not speak. They will address Smith at sentencing, said Assistant District Attorney John Obrecht.

Police said that last Sept. 8, Smith put on a blonde wig disguise and went to Strohl's house, where she pulled out the handgun and shot Strohl in the chest. Doctors had to remove Strohl's spleen, one of her kidneys and part of her pancreas.

Smith was also upset with other neighbors for not helping her with the dog dispute, so she went to Jacobs' house with a handgun and shotgun, burst into the home and held Jacobs hostage until she gave a statement about the dog bite, authorities said.

Reporter Russ Flanagan can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by e-mail at rflanagan@express-times.com.