Kenosha homicide; Ranon Brownlee sentenced, life for 2021 stabbing, shooting
Ranon Brownlee
KENOSHA, Wis. - A Kenosha County judge sentenced Ranon Brownlee on Monday, April 17 to life in prison with no possibility of extended supervision in connection with a 2021 fatal stabbing and shooting.
A jury found Brownlee guilty in December of first-degree intentional homicide. Brownlee was charged with first-degree intentional homicide and possession of a firearm by a felon. Prosecutors said he stabbed and shot a woman in what police described as a domestic violence incident.
Case details
During a 911 call, the victim – identified by police as 26-year-old Charniese Brown of Kenosha – could be heard repeatedly telling the dispatcher "He is trying to kill me. Help me."
A detective who listened to the call reported hearing stabbing noises and the sound of a shotgun being fired. The victim made no further sounds on the call.
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Police were called to the scene near 18th Avenue and 73rd Street in Kenosha, arriving minutes after the victim went silent. Upon police arrival, a criminal complaint states Brownlee walked out with his arms raised.
Inside, officers found the victim seriously wounded. First responders attempted to revive her multiple times, but life-saving measures were unsuccessful. An autopsy found the cause of death to be a shotgun wound to the torso and multiple, sharp force injuries.
According to the complaint, Brownlee admitted to stabbing and shooting the victim while she was on the phone with 911.
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The complaint states Brownlee's version of events changed frequently, at one point claiming he acted in self-defense and that the victim had possessed a knife and the shotgun at one point. Detectives found the evidence to be inconsistent with his self-defense claim.