Man who tried to murder girlfriend to preserve ‘house of cards’ is convicted

A Clovis man was convicted in Fresno County Superior Court on Thursday of shooting one of his five girlfriends in the face and dumping her in a canal filled with cold, rushing water.

David Wayne Brown, 40, was convicted of all six felonies he was facing: premeditated attempted murder, aggravated mayhem with a firearm, premeditated attempted murder with great bodily injury, kidnapping with great bodily injury, evading a peace officer with willful disregard for safety, and intimidation of a witness.

When he is sentenced on Dec. 4, he faces over 200 years to life in state prison. He will be eligible for release under the Elderly Parole Program when he turns 60 and after serving 25 years.

The 43-year-old woman survived the June 5 ordeal and testified that she kept in touch with Brown, hoping to find answers to why he shot her.

The district attorney’s office said Brown lured her to a canal bank before shooting her twice, then dragging her 30 feet and kicking her into the canal.

The woman was able to climb out and was found an hour and a half later by a farmer.

Later that day, Brown led sheriff’s deputies on a chase through Fresno and Clovis before crashing near Bullard Avenue and First Street.

During the trial, prosecutor Robert Veneman-Hughes told the jury that Brown had five girlfriends and wanted to kill one because “she threatened to bring down his house of cards” by telling the other women that he was cheating on them.

After his arrest, Brown tried to coerce the victim into lying or not coming to court, the district attorney’s office said. The calls were recorded.

Brown was convicted twice of bank robbery in 2004 and once of attempted robbery in 2012.

This story was originally published November 1, 2018 at 8:12 PM.