California court date reset for ousted Nevada Assemblyman Brooks

By KEN RITTER ASSOCIATED PRESS

10 years ago

Former Nev. Assemblyman Steven Brooks is arraigned via videoconference in Judge John Gibson’s courtroom in San Bernadino County Superior Court in Barstow, Calif. on Apr. 2, 2013.

An AMR paramedic monitors Steven Brooks, who was restrained by police officials from several departments on the Interstate 15 on March 28, 2013, in Victorville, Calif. Brooks, who was ousted from office in the Nevada Legislature, led Barstow, Calif., police and California Highway Patrol officers on a high speed chase between Barstow and Victorville before he was taken into custody.

Former Nevada legislator Steven Brooks’ California court date was pushed back again. (File photo)

Steven Brooks

A former Las Vegas-area lawmaker facing felony charges in California after a freeway chase and a fight with police on the day he was expelled from the state Assembly was granted another delay in his case Friday.

A judge in Victorville, Calif., set a Feb. 28 pretrial hearing for Steven Brooks after his lawyer requested a postponement, prosecutor Shannon Faherty said.

Defense attorney Sean O’Connor didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

Friday’s postponement in San Bernardino County Superior Court is the fifth since Brooks, 41, pleaded not guilty Aug. 6 to felony charges of evasion, obstructing an officer and throwing a substance at a police vehicle. He’s also charged with harming a police animal, a misdemeanor.

Police said Brooks attacked a police dog and fought with Barstow police who arrested him after a March 28 police pursuit on Interstate 15. A disheveled Brooks had argued with a tow truck driver about a flat tire before officers arrived, then led them on a 20-minute chase toward Victorville, police said.

Brooks is being held at the San Bernardino County Jail on $100,000 bail.

Last year, he sought to have his case diverted into a mental health court program that could have released him from jail on probation, but the request was rejected.

A spokesman for San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos said in June that prosecutors offered a plea deal that would get Brooks two years and eight months in prison if he pleaded guilty before trial.

The freeway confrontation came hours after Nevada lawmakers voted to expel the Democrat from North Las Vegas from the Legislature. They cited a pattern of bizarre behavior and said they didn’t feel safe with him in the Legislative Building in Carson City.