Providence Man Gets Life In Prison For Killing Woman In Drive-By Shooting

PROVIDENCE, RI — A Providence man received double life prison sentences after prosecutors proved he killed a 24-year-old woman in a drive-by shooting and attempted to kill her boyfriend.

Shawn Mann, 34, was sentenced Tuesday for the 2021 killing of Miya Brophy-Baermann, 24, and for the attempted murder of her boyfriend, Sheron Robinson. On Oct. 30, 2024, Mann was found guilty of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, discharging a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence resulting in death, committing a drive-by shooting, possession of a ghost gun, carrying a pistol without a license, assault with intent to commit murder, and discharging a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence resulting in no injury.

During the trial, prosecutors proved that on Aug. 1, 2021, Mann and a co-defendent, Isaiah Pinkerton, participated in a drive-by shooting on Olney Street in Providence. The shooting resulted in the death of Brophy-Baermann. On Jan. 26, 2024, Pinkerton was sentenced to double life in prison.

"Miya’s memory will live on, even as we close the legal chapter on this truly heartbreaking case," Attorney General Peter Neronha said. "Though Miya’s loss will forever be deeply felt by her friends and family, I hope they feel a sense of peace knowing that justice has been served for both defendants responsible for this senseless crime."

Details on the Drive-by Shooting

On the morning of Aug. 1, 2021, Providence police responded to a shooting on Olney Street and arrived, as paramedics were taking the victim, to Rhode Island Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

In the days following, investigators obtained surveillance footage showing a dark-colored sedan driving past the scene of the crime, opening fire upon Brophy-Baermann and Robinson, and speeding away.

Police also recovered two 9-mm cartridge cases in the road and one fragmented bullet from the victim’s vehicle, all of which were sent to the state crime lab for analysis. During the course of the investigation, detectives were able to obtain a combination of surveillance, phone location data, DNA, and ballistics evidence, prosecutors said.

On Dec. 12, 2021, Providence police conducted a routine motor vehicle stop of a Hyundai Elantra. In the Elantra, officers located a backpack that was tossed from the vehicle prior to the stop, which contained a ghost gun.

Investigators ran the ghost gun through the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN) database, which indicated that the gun was a possible match to the gun used during the shooting. Authorities later determined that the spent casings from the scene on Olney Street were expelled from the recovered ghost gun.

"I am incredibly proud of the work the men and women of the Providence Police Department do every day to keep the public safe and hold individuals accountable who commit acts of violence within our community," Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez said. "I commend the officers who investigated this case, specifically former Detective Sergeant Timothy McGann and former Detective Theodore Michael, and thank the Office of the Attorney General for their continued partnership."

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