ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – The woman charged in the death of an Orange County deputy pleaded guilty to manslaughter on Wednesday and received a sentence of 15 years in prison as part of a plea deal with the State Attorney's Office.
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Erica Pugh, 18, was in the stolen vehicle the night of Feb. 11 when her boyfriend, 28-year-old Benjamin Holtermann, shot Deputy Scott Pine three times. Holtermann ran away and was later found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, investigators said.
[Local 6's exclusive jailhouse interview with Erica Pugh ]
Deputies said Pugh was with Holtermann burglarizing cars shortly before Pine was shot.
In court, Pine's widow said she is not happy with the plea deal.
"(Pugh) will get to live her life in 15 short years and go back to normal," said Bridgett Pine. "Me and my family year after year will spend our life and celebrate birthdays and achievements of life and holidays spent at a cemetery in tears."
Colleages of Scott Pine at the Orange County Sheriff's Office also expressed their disappointment in the plea deal.
"In the last 11 months, I have cried more than any man would care to admit," said Deputy Yehuda Green.
Green told the court the Pine family's lives have been turned upside down.
He grieved over Pine's son not being able to learn how to throw a baseball from his dad or be coached on how to ask a girl out on a date.
Pugh said she has been treated for bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. She told the judge she understands the ramifications of pleading to manslaughter in Pine's death.
She was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Pugh was originally charged with first-degree murder. The state attorney's office released a statement on Wednesday, saying "We recognize that the 15-year sentence does not soothe his family, mainly his widow Bridget, their children, or his fellow law enforcement brothers and sisters.
While Erica Pugh did not pull the trigger, she is equally responsible for Deputy Pine's death. Now, she has 15 long years in prison to think about the lives she has ruined by her thoughtless, criminal actions."
Check back for more on this developing story.
