‘Bit of closure,’ says twin brother of arrest in killing of Brooks Sandwich co-owner
Police made an arrest early Wednesday in the killing of Scott Allen Brooks, the beloved co-owner of Brooks Sandwich House in NoDa, and said they’re searching for a second suspect.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officers, including the SWAT team, arrested 33-year-old Terry Conner Jr. in north Charlotte, officials said. Agents with the FBI assisted.
Conner was charged with murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, first-degree kidnapping and possession of a firearm by a felon, according to CMPD.
Scott Brooks’ twin brother, David Brooks, said during a news conference Wednesday at the restaurant that he and his family are thankful for the police work that led to an arrest.
“Kudos to CMPD,” David Brooks told reporters. “They go far beyond what’s called of them ... (There’s) a little bit of closure going to come to this family and the community.”
“I’m not sure if (the arrest) starts the healing process or not ... Nothing’s going to bring my brother back,” he said.
Police announced the arrest on Twitter. Before that, David Brooks said, a detective called his brother’s wife with the news and then called him around 8:30 a.m.
The reward for information leading to an arrest was increased in January from $5,000 to $21,000 thanks to a $10,000 contribution from the FBI and an extra $6,000 from local organizations.
In January, CMPD released photos and surveillance video and images of two suspects. The video showed a person who appeared to be wearing a hood and gloves and carrying a gun.
“A lot of this was good old-fashion nose-to-the-grindstone police work by Detective Dawn Martin,” CMPD Maj. Cam Selvey said at a news conference at CMPD headquarters on Wednesday.
Selvey declined to say whether a tip from the community directly led to Conner’s arrest, citing the ongoing investigation and that a second suspect remains at large.
Conner was released from prison in September after serving about six years for shooting two people during a home invasion, according to Selvey. Conner has past convictions of assault and assault inflicting serious bodily injury, according to state prison records. He was sentenced to five years in prison in 2006 for armed robbery, public records show.
Shooting at Brooks Sandwich House
Scott Brooks was killed around 5 a.m. on Dec. 9 as he arrived to prepare the restaurant for the day. The popular walk-up restaurant is on North Brevard Street in the NoDa neighborhood. Officers say they found Brooks, who had been shot and killed, and robbery was the likely motive.
Brooks, 61, co-owned the restaurant with his twin brother, David.
The unassuming hole-in-the-wall restaurant, famous for its chili cheeseburgers, drew customers from all over Charlotte.
NoDa neighborhood landmark
The restaurant was founded in 1973 by David and Scott Brooks’ father, Calvin “C.T.” Brooks Jr. As boys — Scott Brooks was five minutes older than his twin — their father would tinker with the chili recipe as the brothers watched television.
In a rapidly changing neighborhood, Brooks’ restaurant stood out as a landmark.
The establishment saw NoDa change over the years from mill houses into expensive homes. Across the street, new homes worth a half-million dollars had just been built, but Brooks’ Sandwich House was the same melting pot.
Hundreds of mourners gathered at Brooks’ the same night of the shooting to say goodbye to Scott.
“Guys, you don’t know how much this means to me,” David Brooks told the crowd. “My heart’s broken, but my spirit’s not broken. We are going to be back.”
Some people at the vigil told The Charlotte Observer they’d eaten at Brooks’ since they were pre-teens, long before the area was called NoDa.
“It means a lot. That was my uncle. He was a husband. He was a dad. So it means a lot that everybody’s out here,” Scott’s niece, Lauren Brooks Thorp, told The Observer.
‘God has blessed us’
In an August 2018 interview with CharlotteFive, the twins described the countless hours they’d devoted to the restaurant.
“It’s been good,” Scott Brooks told CharlotteFive, which is part of The Charlotte Observer. “God has blessed us over here.”
Scott Brooks recalled how he tried law school for a semester and “figured out real quick I wasn’t gonna be a lawyer. Real quick.”
When their mother died and their father asked them to join the business years ago, they immediately accepted, the brothers said. They didn’t want their father to have to run the restaurant alone, they said.
They put in long hours together each day over the decades.
“My dad died a little over a year ago,” Scott Brooks said in 2018. “I gotta be honest with you, I don’t know if I’d do it all over again or not. If I could make what I make now, I might just go to work for somebody.”
“But if it’s not broke, don’t fix it,” Scott said at the time. “There are really no challenges, other than the mere fact of having to get up at 3:30 in the morning.”
Reaction to arrest
As David Brooks spoke to the media on Wednesday, it was business as usual in the background. A sandwich shop worker called out numbers as customers approached the window to pick up their lunches.
Steve Phillips, 70, ordered his hamburger “all the way,” meaning it was topped with onion, mustard and homemade chili. The sweet tea at Brooks Sandwich House is the only sweet tea he’ll drink, Phillips said.
“When I heard they caught someone, I said it’s time to give my friends some money,” he said.
David Brooks said Wednesday he’s grateful for the support from the community, especially those in the NoDa neighborhood. He added that he wants people to remember not only his brother but the other victims of gun violence in Charlotte.
“What happened to him is not really unique ... in the city of Charlotte,” Brooks said on, citing the high number of murders from last year.
In 2019, the city had 107 homicides, the most since 1993. Charlotte is on a similar pace in 2020.
Staff Writer Gavin Off contributed.
This story was originally published March 4, 2020 at 10:21 AM with the headline "‘Bit of closure,’ says twin brother of arrest in killing of Brooks Sandwich co-owner ."
