The defense attorney representing a Perris man accused of slugging two female players in a melee at a high school basketball game in Corona and then threatening others with a gun dueled with the prosecutor over the credibility of witnesses during the trial’s closing arguments on Monday, March 18.
Thaddis Lamont Brooks IV, 40, is accused of two counts each of assault with a gun, criminal threats and battery and one count each of bringing a gun to school grounds, being a felon in possession of a firearm and dissuading a witness.
Brooks has pleaded not guilty to all charges, which stemmed from his role at a basketball game between host Centennial High and city rival Santiago High on Jan. 24, 2023. A fight broke out between two players that was later joined by Brooks’ daughter, also a player. Brooks left the stands and entered the court — either tripping into the crowd while helping his daughter or racing in to punch the others, the attorneys argued to jurors in Superior Court in Riverside on Monday.
Someone then grabbed Brooks in a bear hug, and he could be seen shouting in silent videos played in court. He later is shown leaving the gymnasium. Brooks then went to his car. What happened next was the central argument on Monday.
Four witnesses previously testified they saw Brooks with a gun in the parking lot, chasing people.
His attorney, Arsany Said, said what one witness saw was actually Brooks, who is Black, holding a black cell phone in a dark parking lot. Said told jurors that Brooks did not have a gun and that he believed the witness was biased.
“In the dark, they melt together,” the attorney said. “If he had a banana in his hand, she would have come here and told you had a gun.”
Police did not interview or search Brooks that night and did not arrest him until nine days later.
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Said accused witnesses of changing their accounts from the time of the chaos to their testimony a year later. He said one witness initially told police that a man making threats inside the gym was wearing a brown jacket, but later told investigators that the man was wearing a blue jacket. Brooks was wearing blue. Another witness who tearfully testified that she was frightened by Brooks “(turned) off the waterworks just like that” upon cross-examination, Said said, snapping his fingers.
The attorney said witnesses believed they saw a gun because someone yelled “gun.”
“None of their stories match,” Said added.
Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Flores said none of the witnesses knew Brooks and therefore had no motivation to lie. The emotions they showed on the stand lent credibility to their testimony, she said. If their stories didn’t match, Flores told jurors, it’s because they saw the same event differently, yet reached the same conclusion: that Brooks brandished a gun.
The bottom line, Flores said, was a terrified crowd.
“They had no idea the defendant was going to cause a massive melee then exit to get his gun and threaten to shoot the place up,” Flores said. “He chose to hit those girls. This was a man who was either unwilling or unable to control his emotions.”
The jury received the case to begin deliberations at the Riverside County Hall of Justice late in the day.