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Steven Brooks legal trouble (2013-2014)
In early 2013, former Nevada State Assembly member Steven Brooks was arrested on three separate occasions, resulting in his expulsion from the assembly, a suspended prison sentence and a period of probation.
Arrests, expulsion, and sentencing
1st arrest
On Saturday, January 19, 2013, North Las Vegas police arrested Brooks, booking him on one count of intimidating a public official with physical violence. Sources told the Las Vegas Sun that Brooks had allegedly threatened to shoot then Speaker-elect Marilyn Kirkpatrick (D) that afternoon because he was unhappy with his committee appointments for the upcoming legislative term. Brooks was taken into custody without incident at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday evening. According to the Sun, Brooks "had told lobbyists and other lawmakers that he had expected to become chairman of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, a powerful committee that oversees changes to the governor's proposed budget." However, the leadership had instead chosen Maggie Carlton as committee chair. The Nevada Assembly's Democratic caucus had recently been divided by the recent leadership contest between Kirkpatrick and William Horne, triggered by the narrow defeat in November 2012 of Majority Floor Leader and expected speaker Marcus Conklin in his re-election bid.[1]
Brooks' release and hospitalization
Brooks was released after posting his $100,000 bail on January 20, a little more than 24 hours after being taken into custody. If convicted of intimidating a public official, a felony charge, he would have faced up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. When announcing Brooks' release on Monday, police declined to confirm or deny whether the assemblyman had been arrested with a firearm.[2] On January 21, 2013, Brooks told Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist Steve Sebelius, "I'm innocent. Marilyn wants to kill me."[3] The city of Las Vegas, where Brooks worked as an analyst, placed him on unpaid leave on January 22.[4]
On January 22, 2013, after announcing that Brooks had been hospitalized in Las Vegas for digestive bleeding, possibly due to a pre-existing condition, Brooks' attorney Michael Posin informed the press that "there are a lot of things going on here that will put things in a different light than it appears right now." That same day, North Las Vegas police Sgt. Tim Bedwell confirmed that Brooks had a gun in his car at the time of his arrest at a traffic stop but declined to say its caliber and whether it was loaded.[5] According to a law enforcement report obtained by the Las Vegas Sun, the police had been warned that Brooks was "willing to have a shootout with police." Officers found a .357 Smith and Wesson and 41 rounds of live ammunition in Brooks' vehicle at the time of his arrest.[6]
Mental health in question
| January 19, 2013: 1st arrest: intimidating Marilyn Kirkpatrick |
| January 20, 2013: Released on $100,000 bail |
| January 22, 2013: City of Las Vegas places Brooks on unpaid leave |
| January 22, 2013: Brooks hospitalized |
| February 4, 2013: Brooks sworn in |
| February 10, 2013: 2nd arrest: domestic violence, obstructing police |
| February 11, 2013: Released on $4k bond, claims police attacked him |
| March 26, 2013: Special committee votes to expel Brooks |
| March 28, 2013: Assembly confirms expulsion by voice vote, 3rd arrest |
| July 25, 2014: Sentenced to time served for California offenses |
| January 6, 2015: Sentenced to 3 years probation for possession |
The January 28 initial court date for Brooks was delayed as the assemblyman underwent a mental evaluation. Following his prior release from the hospital after his stay for internal bleeding, Brooks had "reportedly exhibited bizarre behavior, including leaving the Legislative building in Carson City in a hood and appearing shirtless on the front page of the Jan. 25 Las Vegas Review-Journal."[7] In his January 24 interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Brooks maintained his innocence, admitted to having a gun with him at the time of his arrest and claimed that he was in danger from Kirkpatrick.[8] After undergoing the mental evalualtion, Brooks was released from the hospital on January 31.[9]
Brooks was sworn in on February 4, 2013, at the start of the new legislative term but was expected to take a leave of absence for medical purposes. Speaker Kirkpatrick told the media that she intended to form a select committee to examine the Brooks case and to make recommendations for how to deal with similar situations in the future.[9] Brooks apparently backed away from an agreement to take a leave of absence, so Kirkpatrick appointed her investigation panel on Thursday, February 7. Majority Leader Horne (D) was appointed to chair the 7-member panel, whose other members included Democrats Richard Carrillo, Jason Frierson and Dina Neal and Minority Leader Pat Hickey (R) and his fellow Republicans Wesley Duncan and Lynn Stewart. Brooks then announced he was taking a 3-week leave of absence. He had already been removed from the Assembly's Democratic Caucus on February 6.[10]
2nd arrest
Police arrested Brooks again on February 10, 2013, after his wife called 911 from a neighbor's house. Brooks allegedly had grabbed his wife by her hair and pushed her, causing her to go to the neighbor's house. When police arrived, the legislator allegedly attempted to punch an officer and struggled to grab the officer's gun before being subdued with the assistance of a second officer. Brooks was arrested for obstructing the police and domestic battery.[11][12] After being released on a $4,000 bond, Brooks claimed on Monday, February 11, that the police had attacked him before the arrest. Also on February 11, the Nevada legislature banned Brooks from its premises and placed him on leave for the duration of the ongoing investigation by Kirkpatrick's panel.[13]
Brooks' behavior in the legislature apparently triggered one of the legislature's employees to file a complaint to the Division of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) about "an unstable and dangerous employee." Although OSHA district manager Chris Davies' February 4 letter to legislative staff did not reveal the names of the employee who filed the complaint or its subject, staff and the media assumed it referred to Brooks. Although OSHA did not plan any investigation, the Davies letter was one more piece of evidence that was considered by Horne's special panel's investigation into Brooks' behavior.[14]
Expulsion from the assembly
On the night of March 26, 2013, a special bipartisan committee voted 6-1 to recommend the expulsion of Brooks from the Nevada State Assembly. The person to vote against recommending expulsion, Dina Neal, said she preferred suspension over expulsion. The full chamber needed to pass a measure by a two-thirds majority in order to officially oust Brooks. The last time this procedure was used on a member of the Assembly was in 1867, though the assembly never voted on the matter.[15]
On March 28, 2013, the Assembly expelled Brooks by voice vote, with few 'no' votes.[16]
3rd arrest
Following the expulsion, Brooks was again arrested after leading police on a high-speed chase for 15 miles. He was charged with forcefully resisting an officer, evading arrest, throwing objects from a motor vehicle and harming a police dog.
Police statements said that Brooks had refused to pay a tow truck operator, who reported unusual behavior. A report from the Barstow Police Department said further that after his vehicle was disabled, Brooks failed to heed orders and that he choked and hit a police dog, which required veterinary attention. Brooks was taken to a hospital before being jailed with bail set at $100,000.[17] On August 6, 2013, Brooks pleaded not guilty to the charges in San Bernardino County Superior Court.[18]
On June 1, 2013, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that costs related to the Brooks controversy exceeded $100,000, including $66,715 for the independent counsel hired to determine the necessity of expulsion, $28,000 for investigative services, and $9,400 for Legislative Counsel Bureau police.[19]
Sentencing
In March 2014, Brooks pleaded no contest to the charges leveled against him in California. On July 25, 2014, Brooks was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison, which was offset by 485 days already served and another 485 credited for good behavior.
Brooks still faced a felony charge of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person stemming from the incident with Speaker Kirkpatrick.[20] On January 6, 2015, Brooks received one to three years suspended sentence and three years of probation for the felony possession charge.[21]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Las Vegas Sun, "Assemblyman in jail, accused of threatening fellow lawmaker," January 20, 2013
- ↑ Associated Press, "Nevada lawmaker freed from jail in threat case," January 21, 2013
- ↑ Las Vegas Review-Journal, "Nevada legislative counsel checking on seating Assemblyman Brooks," January 22, 2013
- ↑ Las Vegas Sun, "Mounting fears over armed Nevada lawmaker’s mental state preceded arrest," January 23, 2013
- ↑ 8 News Now, "Nevada lawmaker facing threat case hospitalized," January 22, 2013
- ↑ Las Vegas Sun, "Armed assemblyman was prepared for a shootout, report says," January 22, 2013
- ↑ KVVU-TV, "Court delayed for Vegas lawmaker in threat case," January 28, 2013
- ↑ Las Vegas Review-Journal, "Assemblyman Steven Brooks: 'I've had a month of hell'," January 28, 2013
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Las-Vegas Review Journal, "Brooks to take leave of absence from Nevada Assembly," February 4, 2013
- ↑ 8 News Now, "Nevada lawmaker Brooks says he'll take 3-week leave," February 7, 2013
- ↑ Las Vegas Sun, "Report: Assemblyman struggled with police, claimed to grab officer’s gun," February 11, 2013
- ↑ KTNV, "Police report: Steven Brooks attacked wife, officers," February 11, 2013
- ↑ Ktvn.com, "Nevada Assemblyman Steven Brooks banned from Legislature," February 12, 2013
- ↑ Tahoe Daily Tribune, "OSHA complaint filed by employee charging Brooks is a danger to LCB workers," February 13, 2014
- ↑ Yahoo News, "Nev. panel votes to oust embattled assembly member," March 27, 2013
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedap - ↑ The Huffington Post, "Steven Brooks Arrested Hours After Nevada Expulsion," March 29, 2013. accessed March 29, 2013
- ↑ Associated Press, "Ex-Assemblyman Pleads ‘Not Guilty,’ August 6, 2013. accessed August 7, 2013
- ↑ Las Vegas Review-Journal, "Cost of Brooks mess grows by almost $10,000," June 1, 2013. accessed June 24, 2013
- ↑ Las Vegas Sun, "Ex-Nevada lawmaker sentenced in California chase," accessed July 31, 2014
- ↑ Las Vegas Review-Journal, "Former Nevada lawmaker Steven Brooks gets probation," January 6, 2015
