Man accused of hitting mother with a shovel, tying, dragging her with lawn mower

MORGAN COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) — A Hartselle man was arrested after court records say he hit his elderly mother with a shovel and dragged her behind a riding lawn mower that he had tied her to.

Phillip Glenn Brennan, 29, was charged with second-degree elder abuse and third-degree domestic violence after the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) and court records detailed an incident that happened on Monday, August 7.

The MCSO said deputies responded to a home on Tapscott Road in Hartselle after a resident used a home alarm system to contact 911. An affidavit shared deeper details on the alleged events of that day.

When MCSO Deputies arrived, they said they found a woman with “visible marks on her, as well as grass stains on her clothes, and leaves in her hair.” A court record says there were “abrasions and bruising on her right ankle.”

According to the affidavit, Brennan told authorities that he “had gotten mad at [redacted] and there the keys along the wood line in the field…[Brennan] advised that he tried to get her back to the house and had grabbed her by her ankles…and attempted to drag her back to the residence.”

Brennan is reported as telling deputies that he “didn’t like her bothering him while he was trying to clean up around the place.”

His mother, who is not named, is said to have refused any further medical treatment on the scene, court documents say. The affidavit details where she told deputies that the arguing had started earlier when she asked [Brennan] to clean up the yard.”

“Phillip snapped,” she said, explaining in the report that he “told her that he was going to get the chain saw, to harm her.” That’s when the mother said Brennan “came back around the house with a flat-ended shovel and hit her on top of the head with it, and then hit her on the right side of her face with it.”

As the affidavit continued, it reports that Brennan “then took the red push mower in the yard and was trying to run over her feet with it.” The mother is said to have told deputies that she was able to make it back to the house and lock Brennan out, but that he was able to crawl in through a window.

She stated in the court record that she took a chance to run to the neighbors, but “[Brennan] ran her down and attempted to wrap a blue/white rope around her legs. She advised at this point [Brennan] wrapped the rope around the yellow…lawn mower and pulled her across the yard about 50-75 ft.”

The mother told deputies, according to the affidavit, that despite Brennan having taken her cell phone away, that she was able to push the ADT key fob to call for help before he took the key chain and threw it into the field.

She described to deputies that “[Brennan] had told her he was going to take her and tie her to the bed,” and that she “was trying to yell for help from neighbors, and even the mail man, as she sat on the ground…that’s when [Brennan] put his hands over his mouth, and was smothering her, so she wouldn’t be heard.”

The affidavit details that the mother told authorities, “…these issues have gotten worse, and [Brennan] has become more violent than usual.”

Brennan was transported to and booked in the Morgan County Jail. His bond is set at $20,300.00.