A fatal hit-and-run traffic collision resulted in a prison sentence of four years.
Judge Lon Arend of the 12th Judicial Circuit Court June 20 sentenced Holmes Beach resident Cierra Shannon, 28, to four years in state prison. She was found guilty of committing a first-degree felony — leaving the scene of a Feb. 10, 2021, hit-and-run traffic incident causing death.
The incident resulted in the death of 83-year-old Madelyn Dakin, a Michigan resident vacationing in Holmes Beach with her husband of 67 years, Gerald.
Dakin was hit while walking across Gulf Drive around the 2700 block and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Shannon turned herself in Feb. 11, 2021, after she was identified as the driver of the vehicle involved in the incident, and she was released Feb. 16, 2021, into pretrial probation after posting a $15,000 bond.
Shannon initially pleaded not guilty but changed her plea to “no contest” the morning before her trial was set to begin.
A first-degree felony charge carries a minimum mandatory prison sentence of four years, the sentence handed down to Shannon.
The sentence also requires Shannon to complete three years of probation following her release from prison, 120 hours of community service in a trauma center, as well as revokes her driver’s license for 10 years.
It also requires Shannon to undergo a mental evaluation and complete “appropriate” treatment, such as a prescribed medication.
The sentence is lenient for Shannon, who was facing up to 30 years in prison.
A criminal punishment code score-sheet — a state-required document providing mathematic sentencing recommendations for all but capital felonies — computed a 111.15 “lowest permissible prison sentence in months” for Shannon’s case.
Sarasota-based attorney Ronald Filipkowski, who represented Shannon, did not respond to a June 23 call from The Islander.