Charlotte trial starts for men accused of killing Brooks’ Sandwich House co-owner
David Brooks wondered for years when he would see the men accused of fatally shooting his brother outside their NoDa sandwich shop stand trial.
On Monday, nearly six years since his twin was killed, the trial finally got under way.
Standing outside the Mecklenburg County courthouse, Brooks said he was “tired, but a little bit vindicated that the process is going somewhere.”
Nearly 20 other family members and friends also attended the start of the trial. Superior Court Judge Louis Trosch Jr. heard pretrial motions from assistant district attorneys and defense attorneys.
Two men — Steven Staples and Terry Connor Jr. — are accused of fatally shooting Scott Brooks in December 2019 as he attempted to open the restaurant.
Staples and Connor pleaded not guilty to murder charges in 2022. They appeared in court Monday with their lawyers, Kenneth Snow and Laura Baker.
Assistant District Attorney Nikki Robinson said Scott Brooks’ autopsy showed he was killed by a fatal gunshot to the chest.
Robinson also said the shooting was caught on surveillance footage.
No one has said why it took the case so long to get to trial, but defense attorneys on Monday wanted to delay it even further.
Trosch denied a motion filed by the defense asking the trial be continued to give the attorneys more time to review thousands of jail phone calls made by Connor. Prosecutors said they would not use any of the calls as evidence.
Trosch also ruled the medical examiner who conducted the autopsy could testify about the findings, but would not be allowed to speculate on if Scott Brooks was in a crouching position when he was shot.
Prosecutors filed a motion to have the two cases joined. Defense attorney Baker objected. But she withdrew her objection and Trosch granted the state’s motion. The two men will be tried in the same trial.
Impact on family
David Brooks said that the last six years have been difficult and that he hoped changes would come for families of victims in the future.
“I want to see it become more quick and efficient,” Brooks said of the Mecklenburg criminal justice system.
Brooks closed the restaurant Monday to attend the trial. The restaurant will reopen Tuesday.
Jury selection was scheduled to begin Tuesday morning with 60 prospective jurors called, according to Trosch.
The trial is expected to take three to five weeks.
