A Texas man accused of assaulting his pregnant girlfriend, causing her unborn baby to die, will not serve any time in prison.
According to KXAN, Johnny Charles Ebbs V took a plea deal with the Travis County Attorney’s Office with eight years of deferred adjudication on third-degree continuous family violence assault charges, meaning his charges could be dismissed if he does not violate his probation. However, if his probation is revoked or violated, he faces full punishment for the original charges.
In 2019, Ebbs and his girlfriend, LaShonda Lemmons, were engaged in a verbal altercation when he punched her in the stomach at some point, according to an arrest warrant. When doing so, he allegedly screamed, “F– you and this baby! You aren’t going anywhere!”
Three days after the assault, a doctor informed Lemmons that the baby had died following a “placenta abruption” caused by blunt force trauma.
During a court hearing on Monday, Lemmons also accused Ebbs of strangling her and pointing a gun at her.
Lemmon’s lawyer, Kelsey McCay, stated in court that although Ebbs is required to surrender his firearms due to a bond and restraining order, he allegedly had not done so. McKay also said that Ebbs would have to wear a GPS monitor for only six months while not serving any jail time.
When pressed by KXAN on why it settled for a deferred sentence, the Travis County Attorney’s Office stated, “additional evidence gathered through the course of the investigation made clear that the facts do not support the initial allegation.”
You can follow Ethan Letkeman on Twitter at @EthanLetkeman.