A judge has denied a furlough for a 91-year-old Villager convicted of running down two bicyclists.
An attorney representing Marilyn Hamilton of the Village of Gilchrist had asked for an emergency furlough for his client after she spent two weeks in the Sumter County Detention Center. She had been held there since Dec. 20 when she was sentenced to five years in prison. On the day of sentencing, she was immediately taken from the courtroom to jail. Hamilton’s attorney sought the furlough because he said she needed time to get her affairs in order.
Last week, Hamilton was transferred to the Florida Department of Corrections and released from the custody of the sheriff’s office.
Judge Mary Hatcher on Monday denied the request for a furlough, citing the fact that Hamilton is now in state custody.
Hamilton was behind the wheel of a white Mercedes on Oct. 30, 2020, when she struck Village of Dunedin residents Jessica Laube and Robert Hunter while they were pedaling on Morse Boulevard near Bonita Boulevard.
Witnesses told the Florida Highway Patrol that Hamilton got out of her vehicle, saw the husband and wife crumpled in the road, got back into her car and drove away. The vehicle was later recovered at the Mercedes dealership in Gainesville, where it was being repaired.
