Poplar Bluff man sentenced to 30 years for beating, burglary

A Poplar Bluff man was sentenced Tuesday to 30 years in prison for breaking into a home in the Town & Country subdivision in 2018 and beating another man who suffered a skull fracture.

Brunelle

Jeffrey David Brunelle appeared before Presiding Circuit Judge Michael Pritchett for sentencing after having pleaded guilty March 26 to the Class A felony of first-degree assault and the Class B felony of first-degree burglary.

Brunelle pleaded guilty to causing serious physical injury to Aaron Winchester and unlawfully entering the Winchester home in the 2000 block of Fernwood Road.

“He pled to that full case as charged,” explained Butler County Prosecuting Attorney Kacey Proctor, who indicated Brunelle also had a second case of “lesser assaults arising out of the same incident.”

The agreement between the state and defense was “that the case with the two lesser assaults would be dismissed in exchange for an open plea on the case involving Aaron Winchester,” said Proctor.

As part of the plea negotiations, Proctor said, he also agreed to the assault and burglary sentences being served concurrently.

At sentencing, Proctor said, Pritchett heard testimony from Winchester, as well as Michael Winchester and Sheila Winchester.

“I introduced photographs of the injuries sustained by all three,” Proctor said. “The defense counsel made an argument and offered a brief statement from the defendant.”

In sentencing Brunelle, Proctor said, Pritchett considered the sentencing assessment report completed by Probation and Parole, as well as the testimony, arguments by both attorneys and Brunelle’s statement.

“Judge Pritchett sentenced the defendant to 30 years on the assault in the first-degree and 15 years on the burglary in the first degree,” said Proctor.

The sentences, he said, were ordered to be served concurrent “for a total of 30 years.”

The judge, Proctor said, could have sentenced Brunelle from 10 to 30 years in prison on the assault charge and five to 15 years on the burglary charge.

Proctor said the judge followed his recommendation in sentencing Brunelle. Those sentences also were “what all three victims asked for,” he said.

The defense, according to Proctor, did not specifically “ask for any specific number that I recall.”

Proctor said he thought it was “important to note” the first-degree assault is classified as a dangerous offense, and Brunelle must serve 85% before he is eligible for parole.

Brunelle pleaded guilty in connection to incidents that initially were reported to the Butler County Sheriff’s Department at about 9:30 p.m. April 6, 2018.

Brunelle had been accused of committing two burglaries, as well as multiple assaults and property damages at four locations in the city and one location in the county.

Aaron Winchester, according to police Patrolman James Henry’s report, was on his way home when he heard something run into the side of his Jeep.

“He stopped and rolled his window down and was looking around when (Brunelle) jumped into his vehicle,” Henry said.

Brunelle reportedly demanded Winchester “give him a ride to the airport and then a ride home.”

As Winchester was driving, Brunelle allegedly began to hit him in the right side of the head.

Upon Winchester arriving at his Fernwood home, Henry said, the man tried to get inside away from Brunelle, but “(Brunelle) followed him into the residence. Once inside, (Brunelle) continued to assault him.”

Henry said Winchester’s mother, Sheila, reported Brunelle allegedly “got Aaron down on the bed and was hitting him multiple times on the right side of the head.

“She tried to break them up, and (Brunelle) hit her in the nose” before he left the bedroom.

Sheila Winchester’s husband, Michael, reported he was asleep, Henry said, but he heard the “commotion and started down the hall to check on it and met (Brunelle) in the hallway.

“(Brunelle) hit him in the right eye with his fist and then left the residence.”

Emergency-medical-services personnel responded to the Winchester home, but all three declined treatment; however, a short time later, Aaron Winchester began having a seizure.

EMS returned and Aaron Winchester was taken by ambulance to Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center, where he was diagnosed with fractures to the right side of his face and a skull fracture. He was transferred to a Cape Girardeau hospital for further treatment, while his parents were treated locally for their facial injuries.