The 12th Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office hasn’t decided the criminal charges to bring against Holmes Beach resident Cierra Shannon, 27, who allegedly left the scene of a Feb. 10 hit-and-run traffic crash 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 by a vehicle while crossing around the 2700 block of Gulf Drive. She was pronounced dead shortly after at the scene by emergency medical services.
Dakin was retired from a career at Ford Motor Co. in Michigan. She and her husband raised four sons and her obituary said she was a “loving wife and mother.”
Witnesses and the city’s license plate recognition system helped the Holmes Beach Police Department identify Shannon as the driver of a 2006 silver Chevrolet Trailblazer that hit Dakin.
Shannon turned herself into the Bradenton Police Department the next day and was placed in custody at the Manatee County jail.
Police charged Shannon with a first-degree felony for the incident. The charge carries a four-year minimum mandatory prison sentence if she is found guilty.
Shannon was released Feb. 16 into probation under the Manatee County Pretrial Release Program after posting a $15,000 bail bond.
The program allows a probation officer to conduct visits to a participant’s residence and workplace, requires regular check-ins with probation officers and prohibits participants from leaving Manatee or Sarasota counties without a court order.
Senior probation officer Sue Uschanga is supervising Shannon until her court case is closed.
Shannon had been scheduled to appear in court for a March 5 arraignment under Judge Lon Arend of the 12th District Circuit. However, the hearing was canceled because assistant state attorney Tyler Egbert, the prosecutor, hadn’t filed official charges against Shannon.
Florida prosecutors have 175 days to file charging documents for felonies after an arrest is made, allowing Egbert until Thursday, Aug. 5, to file official charges against Shannon.
In a separate case, Shannon was judged guilty of driving under the influence in 2015, according to Manatee County court records.