BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – A Palm Bay man who struck his ex-girlfriend on the head with a blacksmith hammer was sentenced Monday to life in prison.
After three hours of deliberation following a five-day trial, a Brevard County jury found 37-year-old Brandon Putty guilty in the 2018 burglary and brutal hammer attack on his ex-girlfriend and her current boyfriend at their Palm Bay home, according to the state attorney’s office.
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On June 10, 2018, Putty broke into the woman’s home on Haas Avenue NW, where she lived with her son and current boyfriend, according to the release. The woman and her boyfriend were woken up by their dog scratching on their bedroom door, officials said. When she went to check on her son sleeping in another room, Putty jumped out of the closet and hit her in the head with the hammer, according to authorities.
The woman’s boyfriend came in and was also struck but was able to wrestle Putty and take the hammer away from him, police said. Palm Bay police responded to the scene at 3:45 a.m. after Putty had fled with the woman’s purse, officials said. He was arrested two days later in Georgia.
The woman suffered severe trauma and was left unconscious, authorities said. Her current condition is not known.
Putty was convicted on one count of burglary of a dwelling with battery, two counts of battery and one count of petit theft, the release stated.
The statement said public records show Putty has a lengthy criminal history.