Ex-Assemblyman Brooks indicted on firearms charge
It’s getting difficult to keep track of all of ousted Assemblyman Steven Brooks’ criminal cases.
A grand jury indicted Brooks earlier this week on one count of felony possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.
District Judge Linda Bell set bail for Brooks in the case at $100,000.
According to the indictment, Brooks was using marijuana while in possession of the Smith and Wesson .357 magnum.
The indictment stems from Brooks’ Jan. 19 arrest over allegations he threatened Assembly Speaker Marilyn Kirkpatrick, D-North Las Vegas, over committee assignments.
If convicted, Brooks could face probation or one to 20 years in prison.
Brooks’ lawyer, Mitchell Posin, called the charge far-fetched and said the Democrat will plead not guilty.
“I don’t understand where this charge comes from,” Posin said. “It sounds like an awful long way to get from threats against Marilyn Kirkpatrick to this.”
An arraignment hearing was not immediately set.
Brooks remained in a California jail. He was arrested by Barstow police March 28 — the same day the Assembly expelled him — after a chase on Interstate 15. His bail was set at $100,000 in that case.
The incident began when, police said, he refused to pay a tow truck driver after his SUV got a flat tire near the Lenwood Road exit, police said. During the chase, police said, Brooks threw several items from the SUV, including a handgun.
Brooks was charged with four counts, including felony resisting an officer by means of force or threats of violence and assaulting a police dog, a misdemeanor. He is being held in a San Bernardino County jail.
After that incident, a Las Vegas judge revoked his bail for his Feb. 10 arrest in which authorities said he attacked his estranged wife and grabbed at an officer’s gun when he was being taken into custody.
A few days after his Jan. 19 arrest, Brooks was hospitalized for a mental evaluation after a disturbance at his grandmother’s house involving a sword.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact reporter Francis McCabe at fmccabe@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.
