Man who beat girlfriend unconscious sentenced

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) A Fort Wayne man who beat his girlfriend unconscious inside her Huffman Street home in January was sentenced Monday for trying to kill her.

Brent S. Browning, 29, was sentenced to 20 years for the attempted murder of Samantha Freeman on January 14. He agreed to a plea deal that saw additional charges of aggravated battery, battery and domestic battery dropped.

Police were called early January 14 about a woman in danger inside a home in the 800 block of Huffman Street. According to court documents, the caller told dispatchers that Samantha Freeman had been receiving death threats from her children’s father, Browning. Another call came shortly later from a neighbor who said Freeman was unconscious and identified the man responsible as Browning.

Officers arrived at the home and found a pool of blood on the front porch and bloody footprints leading toward Freeman’s body. She was found unconscious in her bed with a cut on her forehead, among other injuries. Medics took her to a hospital where she was “rushed to surgery,” the affidavit detailed.

Freeman was listed in critical condition.

Investigators spoke with the neighbor who called 911 dispatch earlier that morning and she told them she saw Browning’s leaving the apartment. She said he told her “you better call the paramedics for her.”

Police also talked with Browning’s father, who told police he received a phone call from his son around 6:45 a.m. that morning. He told police his son said he “was sorry for what he had done” and that he “snapped and cut her.”

The altercation came two days after Freeman filed a protective order against Browning in Allen Superior Court. It claimed that in November, Browning kicked the door of Freeman’s Huffman Street home open and threw a rock through a window. It also said Browning stole clothes from the home and threw them away. The protective order indicated Freeman and Browning “resided together in an intimate relationship.” The protective order also denied Browning parenting time unless it’s through a third party.

In court on Monday, Browning offered apologies to his family and children, then to Freeman and her family. He said he hoped they could forgive him for what he’s done.

In addition to the sentence, Browning is to have no contact with Freeman.