Aaron "Big A" Brown and his brother, Lee Brown, are headed to prison for a shooting at an Ark City apartment complex earlier this year that left a Wichita man critically injured.
Aaron Brown received a sentence of six years and five months for his role in the shooting at the Rockridge Apartments, Cowley County Attorney Chris Smith said. Police said it was Aaron Brown who fired the shots that struck Tyrone Clay on Feb. 25.
Lee Brown was sentenced to four years in prison. Both men will be taken into the custody of the Kansas Dept. of Corrections to serve their sentences. Time served can be reduced by up to 15 percent with good behavior.
Both men are in their late 20s. They were sentenced Monday.
The Browns were originally charged with a count of attempted first-degree murder but in September reached a plea agreement with prosecutors. They were each convicted of one count of aggravated burglary ? for entering the apartment without consent ? and a count of aggravated battery.
Smith said he does plan to make a statement about the case in regard to why he chose to plea bargain instead of pursuing a more serious charge at trial. Some family and friends of Clay had voiced displeasure with the plea because of the seriousness of the victim’s injuries and the fact that bystanders were in the apartment when shooting started.
At the time of the incident, police said the suspects broke down the door of the apartment and began shooting at Clay. The victim was taken to a Wichita hospital and required surgery and considerable time to make a recovery.
Authorities and Clay’s family have said the man was very lucky to have survived the incident.
