Kenta Cook has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for shooting Freddie Brinson during a 2014 burglary at Brinson’s Statesboro home.
Cook, 48, pleaded guilty to four charges in Bulloch County Superior Court, the Ogeechee Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office said.
Judge Matthew K. Hube imposed the sentence, which District Attorney Catherine A. Sumner announced.
Cook pleaded guilty to first-degree burglary, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Evidence presented by Assistant District Attorney Donna C. Black placed the burglary on Nov. 10, 2014.
Prosecutors said Brinson returned home for lunch and found Cook inside after opening an exterior door. As Brinson turned to retreat, Cook shot him in the back.
The firearm failed to cycle, prosecutors said, and Cook continued burglarizing the home before leaving Brinson on the floor.
The District Attorney’s Office said investigators identified Cook using Brinson’s description, DNA evidence from the firearm and clothing, and a palm print on the home’s exterior door.
Cook was a convicted felon and was prohibited from possessing a firearm at the time.
Cook had been in custody since 2014 while serving a separate federal sentence.
He was moved from federal custody in New York to Bulloch County on Oct. 6, 2026, to face the state charges. The District Attorney’s Office said he will begin serving his Georgia Department of Corrections sentence after completing the federal term.
At sentencing, Brinson, his wife and two of their children spoke about the shooting’s lasting effects on their family, friends and community.
Brinson told Cook he had prayed for him continuously since the incident.
Yolonda Harris
News Now Georgia
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