Court Watching: Brummette sentenced to 9 years in federal prison on Denton gun charge

By Rosemary K. Otzman
Independent Editor
On March 19, U.S. District Court Judge Denise Page Hood sentenced Sheldon Willie-Earl Brummette to 108 months in federal prison (9 years) plus 3 years of supervised release.
Brummette, 28, (a.k.a. Famo) was the man who pled guilty to purchasing a stolen gun from Thomas Michael Johnson, 52, from the Denton subdivision home invasions in Van Buren Township during the winter of 2011-12.
They both were charged with receiving and concealing stolen property. Surveillance and police investigations by the VBT Special Investigation Unit (SIU) led to their apprehension on April 4, 2012.
At the time of the arrests, Brummette was on probation for a 2011 drug charge.
Court records report police said Johnson sold the Colt .45 with laser sight, which was stolen Jan. 27, 2012, to Brumette for $200 and Brummette sold it to Javon Ellis for $250.
Johnson and Brummette finally accepted felony plea agreements for possession of a firearm and faced 10-year minimum sentences in federal prison.
VBT Police Lt. Charles Bazzy reports that Javon Ellis refused a plea agreement and demanded a trial in U.S. District Court. A jury found him guilty and he was to be sentenced March 25. Ellis was looking at a sentence of 20 years to life in the federal prison system.
Lt. Bazzy said the three arrests and federal sentences brought to an end the series of break-ins in the Denton neighborhood.