Deshawndre Brown pleaded guilty to murder and robbery in the April killing of 23-year-old Ethan Stenftenagel in Evansville.
EVANSVILLE, IN — A 19-year-old man has been sentenced to 45 years in prison for the fatal shooting of a 23-year-old man during a robbery in the parking lot of an Evansville AMC movie theater in April.
Deshawndre Brown pleaded guilty last month to murder and Level 2 felony robbery in the death of Ethan Stenftenagel. On Monday, Nov. 2, Vanderburgh County Magistrate Ryan Reed sentenced Brown to 45 years on the murder conviction and 16 years on the robbery conviction. The sentences will be served at the same time, making the effective prison term 45 years.
The case stems from an April 14 shooting in the parking lot of the AMC theater on Pearl Drive on Evansville’s West Side. Vanderburgh County sheriff’s deputies and Evansville police responded shortly before 7 p.m. after reports of gunfire and a vehicle rolling down a wooded embankment. Officers found Stenftenagel inside a Dodge Durango. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators said the meeting at the theater had been arranged as a transaction involving marijuana vape cartridges. According to the sheriff’s office, Brown arrived with Kardae Langley and Pierce Butler. Authorities said the planned transaction turned into a robbery and an argument followed. Investigators identified Brown as the shooter during the subsequent investigation.
Langley told investigators that Brown had announced before Stenftenagel arrived that he intended to rob him rather than complete the purchase, according to the sheriff’s office account of the investigation. Authorities said Brown and Stenftenagel later argued inside the Durango. Gunfire followed, and the vehicle rolled down the embankment. Officials said the three suspects then left the area.
Brown was arrested the following day in St. Louis after investigators tracked him to a hotel. The Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office said local investigators worked with the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force and used information from automated license-plate cameras to help locate him. Brown was later returned to Vanderburgh County and booked into the county jail.
Langley, who was 19 at the time of the shooting, was arrested within hours of the killing. Butler, who was 18, was arrested April 15 in Evansville. All three were charged in connection with Stenftenagel’s death, but Brown’s guilty plea resolved his case before trial. As part of the plea proceedings, he admitted guilt to murder and robbery resulting in serious injury.
The other cases remain separate from Brown’s conviction. Langley was scheduled for a December trial, while Butler’s case was scheduled for trial in February, according to the latest available court reporting. Charges against them are allegations unless and until they are resolved through guilty pleas or convictions in court.
Brown’s sentencing marks the first completed criminal case among the three men charged after Stenftenagel’s death. The remaining prosecutions are continuing in Vanderburgh County Circuit Court.
Author note: Last updated November 3, 2026.