Man gets 12 years for probation violation

BROOKSVILLE – David Alan McBurnett Jr., 23, served two years in prison after pleading guilty to beating his girlfriend’s baby to death 2009.

Judge Daniel Merritt Jr. handed down a much lengthier sentence on Thursday for a violation of probation charge, which will send McBurnett back to prison for 12 years.

McBurnett was arrested last month on charges of possession of marijuana and violation of probation. During a traffic stop for an equipment violation, a Brooksville Police officer noticed a joint tucked behind his ear, and took him into custody.

McBurnett remained in the Hernando County Jail on no bond until his Thursday sentencing.

Prison records show McBurnett was incarcerated from July 2010 through June 2011 on the culpable manslaughter charge.

Arrest reports show McBurnett hit Hunter Lee Morris in the feet and torso with a remote control and sandal because of his “excessive crying.” The baby died from aggravated battery, according to court records, and suffered from internal bleeding, a fractured rib and multiple contusions.

McBurnett’s family and friends maintained it was the baby’s mother, Breanna Underwood, who beat the child, not McBurnett.

Underwood was never charged. In late 2009, McBurnett was indited by a grand jury on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse, and faced up to life in prison. The following June, McBurnett signed a plea deal that sent him to prison for two years as a youthful offender with no felony history.