A 46-year-old Falls Township man will head to state prison after a child died under his care.
Shawn Robert Felmey was sentenced by Bucks County Judge Theodore Fritsch to three to six years behind bars on Friday after pleading no contest to endangering the welfare of a child. Prosecutors did not move forward with a more serious charge of criminal homicide.
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Felmey’s endangering the welfare of a child charge is connected to the death of 22-month-old Brandon Warner. The toddler was found deceased on December 18, 2018 in the basement of a two-story apartment in the J building at the Commons of Fallsington in Falls Township’s Morrisville section.
A plea deal between the prosecution and Felmey fell apart in spring when Fritsch rejected it because he didn’t want to follow the sentencing terms proposed. The ill-fated deal would have seen Felmey serving up to 23 months in county prison with time served and five years probation.
In late July, a deal to not prosecute Felmey on the homicide charge if he agreed to plead no contest to endangering the welfare of a child was reached. Under the deal, the judge was able to set the punishment.
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After Felmey’s sentencing on Friday, Jules Warner, Brandon’s father, told LevittownNow.com was not happy with the sentence and thought it should have been longer, but he did not blame the police and district attorney’s office. He also appreciated the judge’s actions in the case.
Brandon was Felmey’s girlfriend’s son.
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An investigation by Falls Township police and Bucks County Detectives found that Felmey was the only one in the apartment who went downstairs where Brandon was sleeping leading up to his death, authorities said.
An autopsy found that Brandon suffered head trauma that could have not been caused by a toddler.
Felmey told investigation he had been drinking leading up to the boy’s death and had anger issues in the past.
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In court papers, police said that another person who resided in the apartment knew of Felmey being rough with Brandon twice in the past. The boy had previously had unexplained bruising.
Authorities said Felmey lived in the apartment with four other adults and five children.
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As the investigation into Brandon’s death went on, Felmey skipped town for Florida. He was arrested in May 2019 by Falls Township and Bucks County detectives who traveled to Melbourne, Florida.
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