Brownsville Homeless Man Gets 25 Years To Life For Murder

BROWNSVILLE, BROOKLYN — Homeless man Keith Brannon of Brownsville was sentenced on Monday to 25 years to life in prison in a Brooklyn supreme court for killing 32-year-old Christopher Tennison while robbing him at gunpoint, Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced.

A trial by jury found Brannon, 49, guilty of murder in December 2016. According to trial testimony, Brannon fatally shot Tennison in the chest in August 2015 while robbing him at gunpoint. Tennison's cell phone recovered at the scene had received threatening text messages that investigators traced back to Brannon, according to the investigation. Additionally, Brannon's gun that was in the homeless shelter where he lived tested positive as the murder weapon, the Brooklyn DA's office said.

An NYPD source told Patch soon after the murder that Brannon grabbed Tennison’s wallet near the homeless shelter on the Bed-Stuy/Brownsville border — then "shot him in the face."

A woman named Kimberly Del Pezzo said she was Tennison's wife in an email to Patch. She called Tennison "an amazing person," and said his murder had been "awful."

Tennison's home address was listed by the NYPD as 2352 Atlantic Ave., near Brownsville — and just steps from the spot where he was killed.

Photo of Brannon via Brooklyn DA