Judge sets deadline for plea in case of teenage girl charged with shooting at deputies
Nicole Jackson-Maldonado, the teenage girl accused of shooting at deputies, will either reach a plea deal with prosecutors by Jan. 5 or her case will be set to go to trial.
Jackson-Maldonado was 14 when she and a then-12-year-old boy ran away from the Florida United Methodist Children’s Home in Enterprise on June 1, 2021, broke into a house and armed themselves with guns they found inside, according to charging affidavits.
When Volusia County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived, Maldonado and the boy fired at the deputies, according to affidavits.
No deputies were injured. Deputies held their fire initially, but shot Jackson-Maldonado when she stepped out of the garage with a firearm, according to charging affidavits.
Maldonado’s defense attorneys, Larry Avallone and Jessica Roberts, said during a hearing Tuesday that they needed more time to continue plea negotiations with prosecutors. Assistant State Attorney Sarah Thomas agreed.
Circuit Judge Elizabeth Blackburn scheduled a case-management conference for Jan. 5 at the S. James Foxman Justice Center in Daytona Beach.
Blackburn said if the two sides have not reached a plea agreement on Jan. 5, the case would be set for trial.
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The judge asked Jackson-Maldonado whether she had any questions, but cautioned her to consult with her attorneys first before asking them in open court. Maldonado leaned over to whisper to Roberts and then said she did not have any questions.
“Were your attorneys able to kind of clarify what I was saying here so you could understand it a little better?” Blackburn asked.
“Yeah, kind of,” Jackson-Maldonado said.
The judge then said her attorneys will be meeting with her and that at some point the case would be headed for trial or resolved by a plea.
The judge also asked how long they anticipated a trial would take.
Thomas said at least a week, adding that the trial would include testimony from experts and about 16 law enforcement witnesses. Avallone agreed with the estimate.
Previous plea offer rejected
Prosecutors originally offered the teen a plea deal that would have required her to serve 20 years in state prison followed by 40 years probation.
Jackson-Maldonado rejected the offer.
It was a very different plea than the one offered to the boy, whose case was kept in juvenile court.
The boy pleaded guilty to the same charges as Jackson-Maldonado and, as part of the plea deal, could be released from a juvenile facility in less than three years.
Since the boy was charged as a juvenile, The News-Journal is not naming him.
Jackson-Maldonado faces up to life in prison on a charge of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer (firearm); burglary of a dwelling while armed; and criminal mischief causing damage of $1,000 or more.
The plea deal prosecutors have offered her would amend the attempted murder of a law enforcement charge to attempted murder.
Since Jackson-Maldonado is a juvenile, if convicted as charged at trial and sentenced to life, her sentence would be reviewed within 25 years or possibly sooner, at which point she could be released.
She is being held without bail at the Volusia County Branch Jail.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida girl accused of shooting at deputies gets deadline for plea
