Murder trial set to begin Monday

An Ennice man charged almost two years ago with the murder of his son is expected to stand trial next week. Duane Edward "Dewey" Brooks is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting and subsequent shallow burial of his son, Benjamin Howard Hartman.

The trial is a non-capital trial, meaning the death penalty is not being sought by prosecutors.

According to information from the 23rd Prosecutorial District Attorney's Office, the trial is set to begin Monday, March 19, in Alleghany County Superior Court. Presiding over the case will be Judge Judson D. Deramus and jury selection will likely be the first order of business. Assistant District Attorney John Sherrill is expected to be the prosecutor.

Brooks is being represented by attorneys Donna Shumate of Sparta and J. Clark Fischer of Winston-Salem.

Brooks, who has maintained his innocence, said that 31-year-old Hartman threatened him with an AK-47 assault rifle, prompting Brooks, who was 56 at the time, to defend himself.

After the investigation by the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation and the Alleghany Sheriff's Office, Capt. Carlton Edwards said discrepancies in Brooks' story led to the charges being filed, but declined to elaborate on specifics.

After the shooting, Brooks placed his son's body in a pre-existing hole near the residence the two shared off White Pine Drive, a small secondary road off Jarvis Road near N.C. 18 and the Virginia line. Hartman had taken the name of his stepfather as a young boy and lived in Spencerville, Ohio up until November 2004, when he came to Alleghany to live with his biological father.

According to former Sheriff Mike Caudill, Brooks told him that his son had been drinking and threatened to kill his father. When Brooks tried to leave, Hartman stood in front of the truck and pointed the rifle at him, which Brooks said led to the first of three shots being fired from his .32-caliber pistol that was in the front seat of the pickup. Caudill said Brooks told him that Hartman again raised the rifle, prompting a second shot.

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