Two men found guilty, sentenced to life in Brooks Sandwich House murder case
Two men accused of shooting and killing Brooks Sandwich House co-owner Scott Brooks six years ago during a robbery were found guilty of first-degree murder by 12 jurors on Monday.
Steven Staples and Terry Connor Jr. were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole by Judge A. Louis Trosch Jr. in Mecklenburg County Superior Court. The men were found guilty of first-degree murder, robbery with a firearm, conspiracy to commit robbery with a firearm, kidnapping and possession of a firearm by a felon. Connor faced two possession of firearm by a felon charges; he was found guilty of one and not guilty of the other.
The men were accused of shooting and killing Scott Brooks, 61, at his family’s NoDa restaurant, Brooks Sandwich House, on Dec. 9, 2019.
It took six years, but the justice system worked the way it was supposed to, said David Brooks, Scott’s twin brother, just before sentencing. David Brooks said he hoped the verdict would send a message to other criminals.
“Time is up. The jury has spoken,” David Brooks said to Staples and Connor. “We’re tired of it as law-abiding citizens.”
Scott Brooks’ wife also spoke to the jury, Connor and Staples. She and David Brooks said they forgave Connor and Staples.
“I hope you find peace and make some peace with what you’ve done,” she said. “I think about your families and what they might go through because it’s not just us ... I hope that your family can find some peace because it’s a big deal.”
Just before sentencing, Trosch spoke to the family, expressing particular sympathy for David Brooks. The judge said his father is also a twin. Trosch said he didn’t have the answers to make them feel better or a magic wand to fix things.
“What I can do is impose justice, accountability in this case,” Trosch said. “And that’s what I intend to do.”
Trosch also spoke to Staples and Connor. He said they were “examples” of the kind of people who prey on community members. Trosch said he hoped they used their time in prison to come up with better answers about what to do with their lives.
But Connor was not interested in hearing what Trosch had to say. Trosch said the bailiff could take Connor out of the courtroom, and he could sentence him in absentia. It appeared Connor motioned to the bailiff to take him, but Trosch continued.
After sentencing, as Connor walked out of the courtroom, he looked at David Brooks and said he didn’t kill the man’s brother.
“I looked at him and I said, ‘I still forgive you,’” David Brooks later said outside the courtroom, surrounded by some of his family. “I still feel that way right now.”
The verdicts came a few hours after David Brooks and his family watched attorneys make closing arguments. An assistant district attorney and two defense attorneys representing Connor and Staples gave closing arguments, hoping to sway 12 jurors and three alternates on the potential charges.
Men watched, planned killing, prosecutor says
Prosecutors presented no eyewitness testimony — only surveillance footage showing two masked people robbing and shooting Scott Brooks at the restaurant. Assistant District Attorney Nikki Robinson had to not only place Connor and Staples at the scene the night of the crime, but prove they were the ones who committed the crime.
Robinson focused on phone data. She said phone numbers belonging to Connor and Staples at the time of the shooting pinged on towers nearby. She said they pinged on the night of the crime as well as a few days before — when she accused them of staking out the location and planning out the robbery. The phones also pinged at homes she said matched where the two men lived.
Additionally, Robinson said, no one has testified to say the men were anywhere else the night of the shooting.
The two men, she said, picked the Brooks brothers’ restaurant because it is a cash-only business and within walking distance from Connor’s home. Robinson showed video surveillance from the night of the shooting.
The footage showed two people masked at 4:32 a.m. approaching the restaurant. Scott Brooks had just pulled up in his blue Infiniti to begin prepping the restaurant for opening. Within a few minutes, the men approached Scott Brooks and took him inside the restaurant through the back side door. Robinson said they knew to do this because they watched and planned ahead.
Footage from inside showed the men taking money from Scott Brooks’ pockets. At one point, Scott Brooks moves and the two people in the video fire guns four times. Robinson said the men hit Scott Brooks three times after he attempted to shoot them.
The men ran out at 4:43 a.m., leaving Scott Brooks “moaning for help” and dying, Robinson said. A 911 call went out two minutes later.
Robinson also cited testimony from a woman who had a child with Connor, Keleasta Smith. Robinson said Smith admitted to police that Connor killed Scott Brooks and got rid of the weapon.
Defense closing arguments
But defense attorneys Kenneth Snow and Laura Baker tried to poke holes in the state’s witnesses and evidence. Snow pointed to Smith being an unreliable witness. She lied multiple times to police during interviews, Snow said, and couldn’t be trusted.
Baker took issue with the state’s argument that the phone data placed the two men at the scene of the crime. The data can only show someone’s approximate location, she said.
And because there’s no eyewitness testimony, video surveillance only showing two masked men, and no fingerprints or DNA evidence, there’s nothing that proves Connor and Staples are responsible, both attorneys said.
Both also said the state brought out “props” of unrelated evidence — guns and costume masks not used in the crime but found at their homes — to scare the jurors into a guilty verdict.
“Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Not in this courtroom,” Baker said. “Close is not guilty.”
After all three attorneys finished, Trosch sent the jury out for deliberations.
For the rest of the week, David Brooks and his family are going to be like any other family: taking time off and giving thanks, he said.
“I’ve got so much support between my family and the community, especially the NoDa community,” Brooks said. “No, I’m not going to leave. I’ll be right back next Monday and just can’t wait to wait on everybody.”
This story was originally published November 24, 2025 at 3:39 PM.
