Fort Myers nurse accused of neglecting premature baby heads to trial

FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK) — A former in-home care nurse is heading to trial after a dramatic courtroom moment derailed a plea deal.

Sharlene Pflugrad was arrested in December and faces a child neglect charge for allegedly failing to provide necessary care to a Cape Coral infant during a medical emergency.

The baby — a premature infant born at 24 weeks — requires round-the-clock nursing care.

A no-contest plea was on the table, which would have meant Pflugrad would not admit guilt but would accept punishment.

The plea deal offered by the state included 364 days in the Lee County Jail, followed by 48 months of probation with no early termination, a DNA sample, court costs, no contact with the victim or the victim's family and forfeiture of her nursing license.

Judge Bruce Kyle asked Pflugrad if she wanted to accept the plea, but confusion followed, including talks of her wanting a new attorney.

"If you're getting another attorney, I'm telling you, you better tell them they better be ready for trial tomorrow because I'm setting you for trial tomorrow," the judge said.

The judge gave her extra time to decide, making clear the only options were to accept the plea now or go to trial.

After more than an hour outside the courtroom, Pflugrad returned to court and said she would accept the plea. However, one answer during the required questioning prompted the judge to make the decision for her.

"I'm showing you page four of the plea form. Is this your signature to indicate that you agree with the terms and conditions?" the judge said. "Not really, but," Pflugrad said. "See you tomorrow morning, 8:30 for trial... I cannot accept the plea after that. I'll see you tomorrow morning," the judge said.

Pflugrad could be heard in the background saying she wants to accept the deal and asking the judge to "please" reconsider. He did not. 

WINK Investigates first reported on Pflugrad's arrest in December. According to the arrest affidavit, between Sept. 15 and Sept. 16 of last year, the child Pflugrad was caring for went into distress.

The child's oxygen levels fell below 88%, but Pflugrad allegedly silenced the alarm and did not administer oxygen or contact emergency services. A hospital visit later confirmed the child had experienced prolonged oxygen deprivation. 

Trial is set to begin Tuesday morning, July 21st, at 8:30 am.

This case is connected to another high-profile case involving the same child, in which a different in-home care nurse pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year in jail in Oct…

The victim's mother was present in the courtroom and was not in agreement with the state's offer. The state said the offer was in its best interest.