MANATEE COUNTY – Cierra Shannon, 28, of Holmes Beach, pled no contest today to a first-degree felony charge of leaving the scene of a crash with a death.
Shannon appeared before Manatee County Judge Lon Arend represented by attorney Tyler Egbert in the hit-and-run pedestrian versus vehicle case.
Sentencing is expected to take place within 60 days and Shannon is not allowed to leave the state of Florida.
Shannon was charged in the Feb. 10, 2021 accident that killed pedestrian Madelyn Dakin, 83, of Michigan, who was on vacation in Holmes Beach with her husband. According to a Holmes Beach Police Department report, Shannon struck Dakin with her vehicle in the 2700 block of Gulf Drive. Witnesses to the accident saw a woman matching Shannon’s description leave the vehicle to check on Dakin before getting back in the vehicle and fleeing the scene, according to the report. Dakin was pronounced dead at the accident scene.
Shannon’s vehicle was found in Cortez village near the FISH Preserve the following day and she turned herself in to Bradenton police that afternoon.
On Feb. 15, 2021, Shannon’s then-attorney Ronald Filipkowski entered a plea of not guilty on her behalf. She was released the next day on a $15,000 bond. Shannon’s trial was originally scheduled for Nov. 15, 2021 before being rescheduled to this week.
Related coverage
Suspect enters not guilty plea in fatal hit and run
