Inset (left): Deshawndre Brown (Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office). Inset (right): Ethan Stenftenagel (Titzer Family Funeral Homes). Background: News footage of the scene outside the AMC movie theater in Evansville, Ind. (WEHT).
An Indiana man who fled the state after fatally shooting a man outside a movie theater will stay put for a while.
Deshawndre Brown, 19, was sentenced to 45 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to murder and robbery resulting in serious bodily injury in connection with the death of 23-year-old Ethan Stenftenagel. According to the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office, Brown was one of three men charged with Stenftenagel’s killing, along with 18-year-old Pierce Butler and Kardae Langley, whose age was not provided.
Police said they responded to an AMC movie theater in Evansville, Indiana, on the night of April 14 after reports of shots fired. When they arrived, they found a black Dodge Durango at the bottom of a wooded embankment. A male victim, later identified as Stenftenagel, was inside the vehicle, dead from gunshot wounds.
Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.
Local ABC affiliate WEHT reported on Brown’s sentencing hearing, which took place on Monday. The outlet reported that Stenftenagel and the three other men got into an argument over stolen vapes while in the movie theater parking lot. WFIE, a local NBC affiliate that also covered the sentencing, reported that the fight was a drug deal gone awry.
Police said all three men fled the scene after the shooting. Langley was arrested the same night; Brown was tracked to a hotel in St. Louis, Missouri, the next day. Butler was found in a home and arrested the night of April 15.
According to reporting on the sentencing hearing, Brown requested to attend his sentencing via video and did not provide any further statements. WEHT spoke with Greg Davis, the father of Stenftenagel’s fiancee, who called Brown’s decision to appear remotely an act of “cowardice.” He told WEHT, “There was no apology. There was no remorse. … It is pretty disappointing that that’s not somebody taking accountability for their actions.”
Stenftenagel’s fiancee, Hope Davis, who is the mother of the couple’s two children, said, “Ethan was not a perfect person, but he did not have to be perfect and deserve to live.” She added, “My oldest [child] might have the opportunity to remember some of the memories, but for our son, he’ll go through his life learning pictures, videos and stories. It’s incredibly unfair to them.”
Brown was sentenced to 45 years in prison for the murder charge and 16 years for the robbery charge, to be served concurrently. As part of his plea deal, one count each of murder and armed robbery was dismissed.
Langley and Butler are both charged with murder, armed robbery and robbery resulting in serious bodily injury. Langley is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 18; Butler has a court appearance scheduled for Dec. 21.
The post Man who gunned down father of 2 outside AMC movie theater appears on smaller screen to learn fate first appeared on Law & Crime.
Recent Comments