A 23-year-old Pensacola woman accused of fatally shooting her boyfriend was removed from a Florida courtroom Friday after repeatedly insisting that she had acted in self-defense.
Ashanti Brown is facing charges of second-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence in connection with the death of 26-year-old Ian Pleasant at the couple’s Madison Shores apartment.
During a probable cause hearing, Brown became emotional while an investigator was testifying. She reportedly shouted that Pleasant had been beating her and insisted she had done nothing wrong. Deputies then escorted her from the courtroom as the hearing continued without her.
A judge ultimately found probable cause to support the charges.
According to investigators, the shooting happened after an argument between Brown and Pleasant. Brown gave authorities more than one account of what happened inside the apartment.
In one version, Brown said Pleasant placed a gun on the kitchen table before moving toward her during the argument. She said she grabbed the firearm and shot him.
She later described a struggle over the weapon and said it discharged accidentally.
Investigators say the physical evidence does not support that account. Pleasant was struck by a bullet in the lower-right area of his back, and detectives said the wound and bullet trajectory were inconsistent with Brown’s description of a struggle.
Authorities also say Brown did not call 911 after the shooting.
Instead, investigators allege that she contacted a male friend and asked him to come to the apartment. Brown reportedly told detectives that the man helped her deal with items connected to the shooting, although the man later denied helping dispose of evidence.
Investigators say Brown then drove Pleasant’s vehicle toward a family friend’s home. During the trip, she allegedly discarded Pleasant’s cellphone and the firearm.
The gun has not been recovered, according to investigators.
A Ring doorbell camera connected to the apartment was also allegedly removed from the scene. Brown reportedly gave investigators changing accounts about what happened to the device. Detectives eventually recovered it from a storm drain in Santa Rosa County.
A search of Brown’s cellphone also reportedly uncovered a message she sent to a friend shortly after the shooting in which she said she had “messed up” and wanted to get to California.
The investigation began after deputies responded to the Madison Shores apartment complex following a report of a shooting. Around the same time, authorities received a separate report involving a woman threatening suicide at a hotel.
Deputies later found Brown at the hotel. According to investigators, she was crying and made statements indicating that she had shot Pleasant and was afraid she would go to prison.
Brown has also previously faced a criminal case involving Pleasant. Court records show she was arrested in 2024 after being accused of trying to stab him during an argument. Prosecutors later dropped that case, citing insufficient evidence to prove the charge after Pleasant became uncooperative with the State Attorney’s Office.
The current case centers on whether Brown’s actions were justified as self-defense and what happened after Pleasant was shot. Investigators have pointed to the conflicting accounts, the location of the gunshot wound and the alleged disposal of evidence as key parts of the case.
Brown remains held in the Escambia County Jail without bond.
Her next scheduled court hearing is Sept. 25.
