Court delayed for ex-Nevada lawmaker Steven Brooks

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A former Las Vegas-area lawmaker facing felony charges in California after a freeway chase and a fight with police on the day he was expelled from the state Assembly was granted another delay in his case Friday.

A judge in Victorville, Calif., set a Feb. 28 pretrial hearing for Steven Brooks after his lawyer requested a postponement, prosecutor Shannon Faherty said.

Defense attorney Sean O’Connor didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

Friday’s postponement in San Bernardino County Superior Court is the fifth since Brooks, 41, pleaded not guilty Aug. 6 to felony evasion, obstructing an officer and throwing a substance at a police vehicle. He’s also charged with harming a police animal, a misdemeanor.

Police say Brooks attacked a police dog and fought with Barstow police who arrested him after a March 28 police pursuit on Interstate 15. A disheveled Brooks had argued with a tow truck driver about a flat tire before officers arrived, then led them on a 20-minute chase toward Victorville, police said.

Brooks is being held at the San Bernardino County Jail on $100,000 bail.

Last year, he sought to have his case diverted into a mental health court program that could have released him from jail on probation, but the request was rejected.

A spokesman for San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos said in June that prosecutors offered a plea deal that would get Brooks two years and eight months in prison if he pleaded guilty before trial.

The freeway confrontation came hours after Nevada lawmakers voted to expel the Democrat from North Las Vegas from the Legislature. They cited a pattern of bizarre behavior and said they didn’t feel safe with him in the legislative building in Carson City.