Man takes plea deal for attacking pregnant girlfriend, killing unborn child

AUSTIN (KXAN) - A man prosecutors said beat his pregnant girlfriend to the point she lost her baby will not serve any jail time.

Johnny Charles Ebbs V accepted a plea deal with 8 years Deferred Adjudication on a 3rd degree Continuous Family Violence assault.

According to an arrest warrant, Ebbs assaulted his pregnant girlfriend LaShonda Lemons during a verbal fight back in 2019.

The warrant said Ebbs punched her in the stomach and screamed “F— you and this baby! You aren’t going anywhere!“ 

Lemons said she went to the hospital three days later and was told the baby died. A doctor indicated that “placenta abruption“ was present, which means that placenta was detached from the womb, according to the affidavit. This can be caused by blunt force trauma.

Lemons spoke directly to Ebbs in court Monday during her victim impact statement.

"You were the first person to hold me at gunpoint. The first person to strangle me," Lemons said.

Lemons' attorney Kelsey McKay said Ebbs was required by both his bond and an agreed upon protective order to forfeit his guns. But still, to this day McKay said that never happened.

"We have firearm surrender laws. We have domestic violence laws. But if there's not enforcement and implementation of those laws, they're relatively useless," McKay said.

As part of the plea deal, the Travis County District Attorney's Office required Ebbs to swear in court that he doesn't have any guns and won't live in a house with them in it.

McKay said based on the terms of the agreement, Ebbs will end up not serving any jail time and will wear a GPS monitor for 6 months.

It's a decision domestic abuse advocate Coni Huntsman Stogner said does not serve justice.

"Very concerned that the sentencing does not result in safety for the survivor and the community," Stogner said.

KXAN reached out to the DA's office for comment but were told a statement was not available.