An Alpine man was sentenced Dec. 5 to 25 years to life in prison for killing his girlfriend’s 19-month-old son in 2016.
Brett Brown, 32, was convicted by a jury Sept. 12 of second-degree murder of Orlando Lucas and assault upon a child in the Jan. 11, 2016, death.
El Cajon Superior Court Judge John Thompson imposed 25 years to life on the assault conviction, and the 15 years to life sentence for murder will run concurrent since it is the same crime.
Thompson fined Brown $10,294 and ordered him to pay $162 for counseling costs for one of the children who lived with Brown and Renee Fournier, his ex-girlfriend.
“Today I would like to apologize,” said Brown to three members of the victim’s family in the courtroom. “I accept responsibility for what happened.”
“Every day I wish I could change what happened,” said Brown. “So much has been lost.”
Brown received credit for already serving 1,057 days since his arrest nearly three years ago.
A second trial for Brown was set for Feb. 19 on an unrelated animal cruelty incident in which he is alleged to have injured his pet Chihuahua. Dried dog blood was found in his apartment, but the pet could not be found. He has pleaded not guilty.
Fournier, 30, told a probation officer that Brown is “where he deserves to be and hopes he never gets out of prison,” according to Brown’s probation report.
“She said he took her son’s life and she does not want him to hurt anyone else,” wrote the probation officer who interviewed Fournier.
Fournier herself pleaded guilty to child endangerment and was placed on four years probation by Judge Jeff Fraser on Oct. 9. She was ordered to attend a 52-week class on child-rearing.
Fournier testified against Brown Sept. 7 in his murder trial. Her conviction was reduced to a misdemeanor.
The boy’s father, Anthony Orlando, told a probation officer that he was glad “some justice has occurred” in the case. He has custody of his daughter that he shared with Fournier.
Fournier met Brown on a dating website in May 2015 and moved into his Alpine apartment on Arnold Way with her two children. Brown was in the Navy and on temporary leave so he served as a babysitter.
Deputy District Attorney Chantal de Mauregne argued that Brown was “hung over” when he babysat the boy and “smashed his head against a hard surface.”
She told jurors to “hold him accountable for what he did to that little boy.” The jury reached its verdict about 2 1/4 hours of deliberations.
Brown’s attorney, Stephen Cline, argued to jurors the death was a tragic accident when he slipped and fell while carrying Lucas and a plate of food.
Cline said the boy suffered a skull fracture and other broken bones because Brown, weighing 220 pounds, fell on him. He asked jurors for acquittal, saying he had no time to react to stop his fall.
De Mauregne noted that Brown didn’t tell any responding medical personnel or sheriff’s deputies about him falling down on top of the boy. Instead, he said that boy was jumping up and down on the couch and fell.
