White Bear Lake Man Charged with Strangling Woman Unconscious
BY MN CRIME STAFF
A woman called 911 early on a Saturday morning and told dispatchers to send help but not call back. When officers arrived, they found her running toward them, saying she'd been choked until she stopped breathing.
The suspect, Savon Lamonte Brown, 32, of White Bear Lake, faces three felony counts: threats of violence, domestic assault and domestic assault by strangulation.
Officers responded around 1 a.m. on March 14 to a home on Eugene Street in White Bear Lake. The victim ran toward them and told officers Brown had strangled her until she lost consciousness. Brown was behind her near the residence.
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The victim told investigators she'd been in a relationship with Brown since he got out of jail in September 2025, and said they spent every day together after his release. She was showing Brown something on her phone in his bedroom when a Snapchat message from another man appeared on the screen, according to the complaint. Brown grabbed her phone, and she let him go through it. He called the man who sent the message, and the two exchanged words.
Brown then strangled the victim until she lost consciousness, court documents say. He strangled her again and told her he was going to kill her, adding, "the basement is gonna be the last thing you see. Give me a reason why I should let the mother of your children live." Brown repeatedly told her she was dead and that he'd kill her, the complaint states. He strangled her unconscious a second time. The victim lost control of her bowels during the assault.
When she regained consciousness, Brown was pushing on her chest performing CPR. He told her, "I'm God! I brought you back from the dead," according to court records.
Family members eventually convinced Brown to come outside and turn himself in to police.
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The victim later sent officers two surveillance videos from inside the bedroom. She told investigators she'd been allowed to install a camera in Brown's room because he had previously cheated on her. The footage showed Brown on the phone and strangling the victim against a wall and on a bed.
Brown declined to give a statement.
Court records show Brown has seven prior felony convictions, including two for possession of a firearm by an ineligible person, third-degree assault, threats of violence and three domestic assaults. He has two qualified domestic violence convictions within the past 10 years — a 2024 felony domestic assault in Hennepin County and a 2022 felony domestic assault in Ramsey County, both involving a different woman.
Brown was released from the Minnesota Department of Corrections on Sept. 10, 2025, and was on intensive supervised release at the time of this offense. Each of the top two charges carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The strangulation count carries up to three years.
Officers responded around 1 a.m. on March 14 to a home on Eugene Street in White Bear Lake. The victim ran toward them and told officers Brown had strangled her until she lost consciousness.