Jury finds Brooks not guilty of 2003 murder
                       

by Dwayne McClellan
    News Staff Writer
                                             
    A Cape Girardeau County jury March 3 found Brian K. Brooks, 43, not guilty of first-degree murder and armed criminal action due to the "lack of and quality of the evidence," according to jury foreman Jamie Willis of Jackson.
    Willis said there was a lack of incriminating evidence, several inconsistencies in testimony and credibility problems with Vickie Baker (formerly Brown), a witness for the prosecution. There were also credibility problems with Brooks in his statements to law enforcement officials, Willis said.
    "We could have speculated all day long, but we could not make a decision based on speculation," Willis said. "We could only make a decision based on the evidence presented to us. That was not enough to convict him of murder."
    There could have been more follow-up and additional questions asked by law enforcement officials dealing with the incident Nov. 22, 2003, when Neil Maxwell was shot and killed at Gregory's Roadhouse in Dent County, according to Willis.
    "Regardless of our decision, you never leave that scenario with a good feeling," Wills said March 4. "It was a unanimous decision. There were no holdouts or arguments among all the jurors."
    The Maxwell murder case will likely remain an unsolved murder, Dent County Prosecuting Attorney Jim Gray said.
    Gray said the case would remain open, but unless new information is discovered then it would remain unsolved.
    "There are no other suspects to look at at this time," Gray said after members of the Maxwell and Brooks family had left the courtroom.
    Among the inconsistencies Willis mentioned are:
    • Baker's testimony that there was a "man with a red hat" present in the parking lot at Gregory's that night. Nobody knew who that person was, Willis said.
    • original statements that Baker said she did not see Maxwell at the scene, then later claimed she saw Brooks kicking and stomping Maxwell, who was on the ground. At first she heard a loud pop, maybe someone kicking her van, then it was a gunshot.
    • lack of evidence that showed any bruises or marks on Maxwell's body that would have supported Baker's testimony that Brooks was kicking and stomping Maxwell near her van that morning.
    • testimony from Don Gregory that Baker's minivan was first parked between the Roadhouse and a dumpster, but when law enforcement authorities arrived, the van was in a different location.
    • There was no gun found.
    Evidence was concluded Wednesday afternoon, and the case went to the jury at 10:15 a.m. Thursday. When it was announced that a verdict had been reached, the courtroom was cleared of observers. When they were let back in, everyone went through a metal detector.
    Family members of the Maxwells and Brooks each took up about four rows of seats, separated by one aisle.
    Extra law enforcement members lined the north side of the courtroom near the entrance door when everyone was back in the courtroom.
    Brooks was seated in a chair next to his lawyer, rocking back and forth in his chair with his lips quivering. Family members were also emotional, holding hands and putting their arms around each other.
    The jury returned to the courtroom at 2:45 p.m. with its verdict, read by Willis.
    Prosecutors did not ask Judge William Salyer to poll the jury. Brooks was then discharged, as was the jury.
    Brooks immediately hugged his attorney, Eric Mitchell of Clinton, while his wife, Debbie, bowed her head and joyously clenched her fists. Brian Brooks and his wife then shared a hug before he left the courtroom. During the trial, the Brooks' were often holding hands during breaks.
    Attempts to contact members of Brooks' family for comment were unsuccessful.
    After the jury was released and had left the courthouse property, members of the Maxwell family left the courtroom and were told by a bailiff to leave the courthouse property.
    Members of the Maxwell family were visibly shaken by the verdict. They were crying out in disbelief as the verdict was read, and a few unpleasant words were directed at Brooks on their way out of the courtroom after the verdict was read.
    Once the Maxwell family was off the courthouse property, members of the Brooks family were asked to leave the courtroom.
    Before the jury got the case, Assistant Attorney General Bob Ahsens and Mitchell painted two different scenes during their final summations.
    Ahsens said testimony showed that Brooks had access to a .25 caliber handgun, and it was a .25 caliber bullet that killed Maxwell at close range. Testimony, he said, showed that Brooks was in a jealous rage against Maxwell, who was dancing with Baker, whom Brooks had an affair with for three years. Testimony also showed that it was Brooks who started the fight.
    "The defendant was thrown out but he wouldn't leave the parking lot," Ahsens said. "He was seen outside physically shaking, with his hands clenched and saying that he couldn't leave. Between 1:23 and 1:33 a.m. he called Vickie Brown's cell phone three times looking for her."
    Testimony also showed that Baker and Maxwell were in her van around 2:15 a.m. because Maxwell was going to take her home. Baker testified that she heard a loud pop when she was behind the van, and when she came to the driver's side Maxwell was on the ground and Brooks was kicking and stomping at her.
    "He (Brooks) got caught in some lies that tell the tale in this case," Ahsens told the jury. "Vickie Brown got up and told her story the best she could, and now she's being indicted because her conduct was less than virtuous."
    Then Mitchell had his turn.
    "The prosecution's job was to prove without a reasonable doubt that it was Brian Brooks who murdered Neil Maxwell, but it didn't even get close," Mitchell told the jury. "There was so many inconsistencies, so many changed stories."
    The only thing that the state proved was that Brooks was drinking, got into a fight with Maxwell at Gregory's and Maxwell was shot to death. He said no witnesses saw Brooks with a gun, and he did not pick up any shell casings or get rid of a gun.
    Mitchell said Brooks was in bed by 5:30 or 5:45 a.m. Nov. 22 when the highway patrol troopers came to his house. He got out of bed, put on the same clothes he had worn to Gregory's and cooperated with them the best he could.
    "He was not a guilty man, he offered to help," Mitchell said.
    The case was a double tragedy for the community, Mitchell said.
    "When Neil Maxwell was killed and the family lost a son and a brother, that's a tragedy," Mitchell said. "But it's also a tragedy that Brian Brooks was charged with a crime he did not commit."

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