Brooks trial is planned March 2006

Duane Edgar “Dewey” Brooks likely will head to trial in March of 2006, but will not be facing the death penalty. Criminal Superior Court is set to begin its next session on March 20, 2007.

A Rule 24 hearing last week determined that Brooks will not face the death penalty. That ruling was entered by Judge Burke and recorded in the Superior Court Calendar.

Brooks is pleading not guilty to the charge of first-degree murder and continues to be held in the Alleghany Jail under a $250,000 bond.

The maximum sentence Brooks could receive is life in prison if he is convicted of first-degree murder in the death of his son, 31-year-old Benjamin Howard Hartman.

Brooks was arrested on May 24 and charged with first degree murder. Brooks, 55, is alleged to have killed and buried his son on a piece of property on which both men lived on White Pine Rd. That small, unpaved rural road connects to Jarvis Road, which connects to N.C. 18 north of Sparta.

A large number of Brooks’ neighbors appeared at a court hearing, at which his bond was set, to speak in his defense.

Due to an error, a story in last week’s edition errantly listed Brooks last name as Edwards in the first reference.

Dewey Edwards was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the death of Walter Edward Whitaker Jr. on June 24, 2004. Edwards was sentenced to 114 months to 147 months in jail for the crime with credit for time served.

Brooks has yet to stand trial for the charges levied against him. He claims self-defense, having noted that his son, Hartman, pointed an AK-47 in his direction and attempted to shoot him. Authorities have cited inconsistencies in his story, but have declined to be more specific.

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