The state attorney’s case against a Holmes Beach resident for leaving the scene of a Feb. 10 hit-and-run traffic crash is moving forward.
Judge Lon Arend of the 12th Judicial Circuit Court at a March 26 arraignment informed Holmes Beach resident Cierra Shannon, 27, that the state charged her with a first-degree felony for leaving the incident that resulted in the death of 83-year-old Madelyn Dakin.
Dakin, a Michigan resident who was vacationing in Holmes Beach with her husband of 67 years, Gerald, was hit Feb. 10 while crossing near the 2700 block of Gulf Drive and was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency medical services shortly after.
With the help of witnesses and the city’s license plate recognition system, Shannon was identified as the driver of the 2006 silver Chevrolet Trailblazer that hit Dakin.
She turned herself into the Bradenton Police Department Feb. 11 and was placed in custody at the Manatee County jail.
Shannon was released Feb. 16 into probation under the Manatee County Pretrial Release Program after posting a $15,000 bail bond.
Police charged Shannon with a first-degree felony after the incident, but a March 5 arraignment was canceled because assistant state attorney Tyler Egbert, the prosecutor, hadn’t yet filed official charges.
Egbert filed March 9, resulting in Shannon’s March 26 arraignment.
Shannon had already filed a “not guilty” plea Feb. 16.
The felony charge carries a four-year minimum mandatory prison sentence upon conviction.
The court had not set a tentative date for trial as of March 26.
Shannon had been found guilty of DUI in 2015, according to Manatee County court records.