Suspect's girlfriend arrested for allegedly throwing away gun

Lina Portman4 weeks ago

0 2 minutes read

AUBURN — The girlfriend of Darryl Bernard Brookins Jr., the suspect in the Sarasota, Fla., shooting that seriously injured Auburn football running back Brian Battie and killed his brother, Tommie Battie IV, has been arrested and charged with complicity to second degree murder. with a gun.

Nicole Roberts, 29, was arrested May 31 by the Manatee County Sheriff's Office. According to a later probable cause affidavit, detectives say a white Hyundai Elantra, which at the time was being rented by Roberts through Turo Car Rentals, was seen on video leaving the scene of the incident before turning around. turn and return after the start of the shootout.

Brookins fled on foot after the shooting, detectives say, and the white Elantra was spotted on Roxanne Boulevard, which is located in a community adjacent to the scene of the shooting and in the direction Brookins headed. fled. The affidavit says the Elantra is later seen driving through a waterfront community.

“Based on my training and experience, it appeared they were attempting to throw the firearm into a body of water,” Detective Dwight Mathis wrote in the affidavit. “However, this was a highly populated residential community with no direct access to the waterfront without being noticed.”

Additional video later showed the Elantra parked along the Manatee River. The affidavit says a woman, who matches Roberts' stature and body type, is seen getting out of the vehicle, walking onto a dock and throwing an object that police believed to be a gun into the river. After a search of the area, a Glock 9mm was located.

The Elantra was then seen arriving at an apartment complex about two hours after the shooting, which also injured three other people. The affidavit states Brookins is seen exiting the passenger side of the vehicle with “what appeared to be a white shirt wrapped around his head.”

Later that morning, video shows the Elantra visiting a Walgreen around 11:28 a.m. ET, according to the affidavit. Roberts is seen exiting the vehicle, entering Walgreen's and purchasing “several first aid items” such as wound closure strips and blood control spray, among other things.

Roberts pleaded not guilty Tuesday to the charges against her. She has a pretrial detention hearing scheduled for Friday and Brookins has a criminal arraignment hearing scheduled for July 3. Brookins was charged with murder, attempted murder and felon in possession of a firearm.

According to a pretrial detention order for Brookins that was finalized on May 24, Brian Battie “remains in critical condition, with a prognosis of permanent paralysis if he survives.” Battie suffered a gunshot wound to the head.

Video footage from surrounding businesses shows Brookins leaning on the window of a nearby business before the shooting began, according to another affidavit, which also says Brian and Tommie Battie are seen “walking toward Brookins.” At that point, Brookins “immediately drew a gun and began shooting” at the brothers. Brian and Tommie fought back, the affidavit states.

Auburn coach Hugh Freeze gave a brief update on Battie during the SEC spring meetings on May 28: “He's doing better. Honor the family, I don't want to get into too much. But they appreciate all the prayers, of course. It's been a difficult time for the whole family, but it seems to be getting better every day.”

A GoFundMe has been set up to support the Battie family. He raised more than $106,000 as of Wednesday morning.

Richard Silva is the Auburn sports editor for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rich_silva18.

Lina Portman

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