photo by: Douglas County Sheriff's Office

Brandsyn Tsonetokoy Givens

A Lawrence man convicted of beating a woman received a prison sentence Friday in Douglas County District Court that was suspended to probation.

The man, Brandsyn Tsonetokoy Givens, 21, was convicted of felony aggravated battery after entering a no-contest plea on July 7. The charge relates to an incident on Dec. 7, 2021, when Givens was accused of causing great bodily harm to a woman. He was arrested around 3:40 a.m. that day and was released a few days later on a $40,000 own-recognizance bond.

Givens was sentenced by Judge Stacey Donovan to 43 months in prison, but Donovan suspended the sentence to 36 months of probation. Givens’ defense attorney, Phil Crawford, had filed a motion for departure from sentencing guidelines. The level-four felony charge was a presumptive prison sentence.

During the sentencing, Crawford argued for his motion for departure, saying that Givens had no criminal history and that neither he nor the woman he beat up knows why it happened but that the two were drinking together and that she might have said something that set Givens off. He said that Givens didn’t use any weapons and that the woman had no lasting physical injuries from the incident.

“I would hope that this was an outlier in character for this man,” Crawford said of Givens.

Donovan said she considered Givens’ age when he committed the crime. He was 20. She also said that Givens had no additional criminal history, had taken responsibility for his actions, and the prosecution did not object to the motion for departure.

Givens addressed the court and said, “I am truly sorry for what I have done.”

Crawford negotiated the plea agreement with Senior Assistant District Attorney David Greenwald. Crawford said that their negotiations included talks with the victim and that she said that probation was an appropriate punishment for Givens.

As a part of the probation, Donovan ordered Givens to undergo a mental health and substance-abuse evaluation. He must also complete a batterer’s intervention course.