A woman was charged with leaving the scene of an accident in Miami Gardens that killed one woman and hurt two others. On Friday, she was about to plead guilty, but the victim’s family asked a Miami-Dade judge to reject the plea deal.
Sharon Cox, 64, is currently under house arrest, but she went to court on Friday and signed a 366-day jail deal that her lawyers and the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office worked out.
It was written down and signed. A plea deal that both the state and the defence agreed to for about 10 years. 366 days in jail were planned. Then there was community rule for one year. “Then eight years of probation,” Cox’s lawyer, Andrew Rier, said.
But the plea deal fell through, and people who were hurt by Cox’s careless driving called it a “slap on the wrist.” Patricia Garner’s family told the judge that Cox should have spent more time in jail.
Garner was killed when she was run over while leaving a community service centre. She was a mother and grandmother. Garner’s oldest son and a worker at the centre were also hit but survived.
The crime took place in the 16400 block of Northwest 25th Avenue around 11:20 a.m. in July 2023, according to Miami Gardens Police.
The police report says that Cox hit the three people on foot as she was driving out of a parking lot and then ran away.
“It wasn’t a surprise to hear that her last act on earth was trying to help her family with money problems.” “What is shocking is seeing the system that she paid into as a taxpayer, raised a family, and was being a good citizen fail her so badly,” Garner’s niece Alisha Searcy said at a hearing Friday, asking the judge to turn down Cox’s plea deal.
If the judge turns down the plea deal, Cox could go to trial. If she is found guilty, she could spend up to 40 years in jail. She will have to spend at least four years in jail.
“I think she should go to jail for 12 years.” One year for every hour she stayed home and probably watched the news while my family desperately tried to find answers. “I think she should spend enough time in jail to learn how to be kind,” Searcy said.
The judge told the families of the dead that he would think about the deal over the weekend and asked them to do the same. Rodriguez told Cox about the dangers that lie ahead if she goes to trial. A jury could find her guilty or not guilty.
Rodriguez talked about a case from March 2025 that was the only one that was reported on. In that case, a guy from Miami Gardens was found not guilty of shooting his ex-girlfriend several times. Even though the man was ready to accept a 20-year jail sentence, the victim spoke up and asked for more time. In the end, the judge turned down the plea deal, and the man went to trial. After the jury’s decision, he was freed.
Rodriguez said he might make up his mind about the deal on Monday.
