East Williamsburg man sentenced to 25 years to life for brutal ax attack

August 12, 2024 Robert Abruzzese, Courthouse Editor

The Kings County Supreme Court at 360 Adams St. Photo: Rob Abruzzese/Brooklyn Eagle

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An East Williamsburg man was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison at the Kings County Supreme Court on Wednesday for a brutal ax attack that critically injured his girlfriend and killed her pregnant friend.

The defendant, Jerry Brown, 39, was sentenced by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun. Brown was convicted of second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder and first-degree assault on June 18, 2024, following a bench trial.

“This was a shocking and senseless act of violence that took the life of a pregnant woman and left a second woman with physical and emotional traumas she suffers to this day,” District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said after the sentencing. “Nothing will bring Savannah Rivera back, but I hope today’s sentence brings a measure of solace to her family and friends. The defendant has now been brought to justice.”

According to the evidence, on April 20, 2019, at approximately 1:35 a.m., Brown attacked his 21-year-old girlfriend and her friend, Savannah Rivera, 20, with an ax inside his girlfriend’s apartment in the Bushwick Houses on Flushing Ave. near Humboldt St. His girlfriend’s 4-year-old daughter was present during the attack.

Brown fatally struck Rivera, hitting her repeatedly, and hacked his girlfriend multiple times, causing severe injuries. After the attack, the surviving victim managed to find help by approaching an Uber car whose driver called 911. She was transported to Elmhurst Hospital in critical condition and underwent multiple surgeries for her injuries, including a fractured skull and collapsed lungs. She continues to suffer from seizures and is at risk for life-threatening infections.

Brown surrendered to police at the 90th Precinct later that day and confessed to the attacks. He also admitted to disposing of the ax and his girlfriend’s cellphone in the building’s incinerator.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Ernest Chin, deputy chief of the Homicide Bureau and Senior Assistant District Attorney Cassandra Pond, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Leila Rosini, Bureau Chief.