Mia Bendrat is overjoyed to have her spaniel, Marley, back. (Tomas Gaston)
MANGY: At right, suspect Brad Bacon at Manhattan Supreme Court yesterday. Mia Bendrat, left, is overjoyed to have her spaniel, Marley, back. (
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He won’t learn to heel.
The man who allegedly swiped a 7-year-old girl’s spaniel right before Christmas had walked out of jail just three days before cops said he pulled the heartless heist, records show.
Brad Bacon, 29, was released from jail on Dec. 21 for allegedly scamming two Manhattan delis earlier this month.
In both cases, he strolled into the cafes and claimed to be a repairman, then charged hundreds of dollars for work he didn’t do, court records show.
On Dec. 2, he allegedly entered an Energy Kitchen on West 17th Street claiming to be a refrigerator repairman.
He went to the back of the store where employees couldn’t see him, and later demanded $255 for a deposit on the “work,” the records claim.
About a half-hour later, he hit up another Energy Kitchen on West 23rd Street with the same story, netting a $188 deposit, the records say.
Almost as soon as he was out of jail, he swiped little Mia Bendrat’s dog, Marley, on Dec. 24, prosecutors said at his arraignment in Manhattan Supreme Court yesterday.
Bacon pleaded not guilty to a charge of grand larceny and claimed that it was a case of mistaken identity.
But Detective Dean Roberts said he caught Bacon on surveillance video grabbing Marley in front of a Washington Heights grocery, where the pooch had been tied to a pole on Christmas Eve, according to the complaint.
Even though Assistant District Attorney Jamie Kleidman asked for $7,500 bail, Bacon was released pending his next court date on March 11.
“It’s unfathomable,” said Mia’s mom, Angie Estrada, about Bacon’s release. “He could go and do this again anywhere else in any neighborhood.”
Mia was reunited with Marley on Christmas Day at around 4 p.m. after good Samaritan Tena Cohen bought the shaken pooch from Bacon for $220 and called the cops.
Bendrat said Mia would be terrified if she knew the alleged dognapper was out of jail and roaming the streets.
Mia spent the day curled up with Marley watching cartoons.
“I was thinking that I would never see him again,” she said.
“When I saw him, I ran to him. He’s like a little brother to me, and my best friend.”
Bacon ignored questions after his arraignment.