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Makayla Huggins, 26, faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to one charge in the murder of Brad McNew.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A woman charged in the murder of Jacksonville sheriff’s corrections officer Brad McNew pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact in Duval County court Tuesday morning.
Makayla Huggins, 26, faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to the only charge she was arrested on in the murder; she originally pleaded not guilty to the charge on Jan. 13. Her sentencing is set for May 19, but the date is tentative, as it will depend on 30-year-old Demaurea Grant’s case, her co-defendant.
Grant is accused of pulling the trigger in McNew’s October 2024 shooting death. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office announced his arrest on Oct. 13, 2024, the day after the shooting. He was indicted Jan. 16 on charges of first-degree murder, an upgrade from a second-degree murder charge he previously faced, discharging a firearm from a vehicle, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and aggravated assault.
What happened?
On Oct. 12, 2024, around 1:20 a.m., McNew, who was off duty at the time, was shot by Grant, who was involved in a domestic dispute with Huggins at Love’s Travel Stop on Jacksonville’s Northside, according to JSO.
McNew was employed with the sheriff’s office for 24 years and had just finished his shift when he was shot at the Duval Road truck stop. He was not in uniform, JSO said.
Sheriff T.K. Waters called the shooting “senseless violence” and “disturbing.”
“He’s the epitome of a public servant to me,” Waters said about McNew. “He could have ignored it, but he didn’t.”
Police said Grant shot McNew from the passenger window of a black 2000 Mustang with a North Carolina license plate.
In surveillance footage released by JSO, showing the moments that led up to the shooting, a man identified by JSO as Grant is seen exiting the Mustang, putting a handgun on its hood, then throwing a woman the sheriff’s office said is Huggins out of the car.
McNew then intervened and asked if the woman was OK, according to JSO. When this happened, JSO said that Grant told McNew it was a “family matter” and pointed the gun at McNew.
The sheriff’s office said that Grant shot McNew through the Mustang’s passenger window multiple times and fled the scene with Huggins shortly after. McNew was then taken to a local hospital, where he died of his injuries.
Grant is currently in custody in Gaston County, North Carolina, and is being held without bond until he is extradited to Florida.
