A 43-year-old man pleaded no contest Monday to attacking another man with an ax outside a 7-Eleven store in West Hollywood in 2017.
Kisu Brown, who has been jailed in lieu of $1.1 million bail since his arrest, pleaded to one count of attempted voluntary manslaughter. He also admitted inflicting great bodily injury on the victim during the commission of the crime and using an ax as a deadly and dangerous weapon, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
Brown is set to be sentenced Aug. 29. The attack took place about 4 a.m. Sept. 2, 2017, just outside the convenience store in the 7900 block of Santa Monica Boulevard, near Fairfax Avenue.
The victim had just offered to pay for some items after Brown was confronted for shoplifting the goods, authorities said. Sheriff's deputies said Brown got upset, refused the offer and a struggle ensued. Brown walked out of the store but stopped outside the door and attacked the victim when he came out.
Surveillance video showed a man, identified by authorities as Brown, leaving the store, followed by the victim. The two were barely through the door when the suspect suddenly wheels around and strikes the victim in the head with what looks like an ax.
The victim goes down and the suspect strikes him again several times with the weapon while another man unsuccessfully tries to intervene. The victim was taken to a hospital with serious injuries, authorities said. The criminal complaint states that Brown has a string of criminal convictions dating back to 1999.
