Brooks murder conviction upheld

The North Carolina Court of Appeals recently upheld the first-degree murder conviction of an Alleghany man who was charged with killing his son in 2005.

Alleghany resident Duane Edgar "Dewey" Brooks was found guilty in March 2007 of killing 31-year-old Ben Hartman on a piece of property on which both men resided on White Pine Road, an unpaved rural road that connects with Jarvis Road, which in turn connects to N.C. 18 north of Sparta. Brooks is currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

Brooks' case was heard in Alleghany in March 2007 by Judge Judson D. Deramus. Documents for the case were released recently, but the case was heard by the North Carolina Court of Appeals in January.

The court's unanimous opinion was penned by Judge Rick Elmore. Appeal Judges Ann Marie Calabria and John Arrowood concurred.

Brooks' attorneys argued three main points in an attempt to have his 2007 conviction overturned.

The first argument was that the trial court erred because the motion to dismiss the first-degree murder charge was denied.

 

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