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BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A Kern County jury on Wednesday found a man guilty of all charges — including murder — in the 2020 slaying of a woman at a motel on Brundage Lane, as well as other crimes.
Samuel Brown faces 123 years to life in prison following his conviction in the death of Shavonna Wilson, 30. She suffered gunshot wounds to her head, back, hip, hand and torso, according to court documents.
Brown, 52, was found guilty of first-degree murder, possession of a gun by a felon, transportation and possession of methamphetamine for sale while armed with a gun, attempted carjacking and assault on an elder. He has two prior “strike” convictions, prosecutors said.
“There are those whose long history of crime culminates into a crime so violent that they prove themselves unsafe to be anywhere but the state prison,” District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer said in a news release.
Early Aug. 22, 2020, Brown dropped Wilson’s body at Kern Medical after shooting her at a Motel 6 on Brundage Lane, reports say.
About two hours later, a Bakersfield police officer located Brown’s vehicle in East Bakersfield and tried to pull him over. A chase ensued and deputies eventually took over the pursuit as Brown traveled south on Highway 99 at high speeds. A spike strip was used to disable the vehicle in the area of Highways 166 and 99, and Brown was arrested.
Nearly a pound of meth was found in the vehicle, as well as “substantial” blood stains, prosecutors said.
Brown said he had no recollection of what happened before the chase, according to the documents. He said he had been taking medication for schizophrenia and depression.
In June 2020, Brown assaulted a 70-year-old man in the Shafter/Wasco area, prosecutors said. He and Wilson were trespassing in a U-Haul on the man’s property, and when the man blocked their path with a pickup truck Brown pulled him from the vehicle and repeatedly punched him, the DA’s release said.
While he hit the man, Wilson drove the U-Haul into the pickup and pushed it out of the way so they could leave, according to the release.
