Basketball Game Attack
RIVERSIDE – What began as a run-of-the-mill skirmish on a high school basketball court, quickly escalated when, live video showed, an adult leaving the stands to join in the fray, seeming to throw punches against at least several players. And Corona police charge that it escalated even further when the alleged assailant went into the Corona Centennial High parking lot, retrieved a firearm from his car, and began threatening to shoot nearby students.
On Tuesday, that suspect, Thaddis Lamont Brooks, 40, of Perris, was ordered bound over for trial, by Riverside Superior Court Judge Randall Stamen following a preliminary hearing.
Brooks, who was arrested in early February, nine days after f the incident, is charged with six counts of making criminal threats of death, four counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, three counts of battery, two counts of brandishing a gun and one count each of possession of a firearm on school grounds, witness intimidation and being a felon in possession of a gun.
According to Corona police Sgt. Jason Waldon, on the evening of Jan. 24, the defendant attended a game at Centennial High School, where the Huskies were taking on the Santiago High School Sharks. Waldon said a fight erupted between two players, prompting Brooks to jump out of his seat and enter the fray. He “punched several female athletes before being restrained,” the sergeant said.
No one was seriously hurt.
Waldon alleged Brooks then headed out of the gymnasium, stating that he intended to get a gun.
“The suspect walked to the parking lot and retrieved a handgun from his vehicle,” Waldon said. “While in the parking lot, the suspect pointed the handgun at several students and threatened to shoot them. The suspect fled the area just before officers arrived at the school.”
Detectives contacted witnesses and obtained additional evidence pointing to Brooks as the alleged assailant, according to Waldon.
He said that a search warrant was obtained and served at the defendant’s residence on Chamberlain Creek Way, where officers took him into custody without incident on Feb. 2.
According to court records, Brooks has several convictions in another jurisdiction for which he served time in state prison, though the offenses weren’t listed.
Brooks is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail.
The judge scheduled a post-preliminary hearing arraignment for Dec. 26 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
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