Mistrial declared in Ivan Brooks murder case

For the second time in two years, a Lorain County Common Pleas Court jury has been unable to reach a verdict in the murder case against Ivan Brooks. The jury foreperson told Judge Melissa Kobasher on Thursday that no amount of further deliberation would break the jury's deadlock, reached after less than a day of deliberations. Kobasher declared a mistrial by hung jury and told the defense and prosecutors she would schedule a future status hearing. The Lorain County Prosecutor's Office said Thursday it plans to try Brooks, 38, of Lorain, for a third time in the murder of Terrence Taylor, 45, of Elyria, which took place in March 2019. Brooks' first murder trial also ended in a mistrial by hung jury in Judge James Miraldi's courtroom in November 2021. Lorain County Prosecutor J.D. Tomlinson "is dedicated to the relentless, evidence-based pursuit of justice," Assistant Prosecutor Rick Raley said in a news release Thursday. "The evidence in this case is clear — Ivan Brooks executed a man in cold blood and then took a variety of steps to cover his tracks and evade detection. As a result, the prosecutor's office will continue to pursue this prosecution until justice is finally achieved." Following a five-day trial, the jury deliberated for about six hours Tuesday and Wednesday before announcing they were deadlocked and unable to reach a verdict. Kobasher read two "Howard charges" to the jury Wednesday afternoon, encouraging them to go back into deliberations and try to reach a verdict. Kobasher interviewed three jurors including the jury foreperson to determine if there was anything that prejudiced them, but none of the jurors said they saw any misconduct matching allegations made by a member of the Brooks family Wednesday. For the time being, Brooks will remain in the Lorain County Jail, where he has been held for more than four years and through two trials. He is charged with aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault, improperly discharging a firearm, and related firearms specifications in the fatal shooting of Taylor at 841 Broad St. in Elyria on March 19, 2019. Questions of possible juror misconduct first arose Wednesday, with the jury foreperson sending the judge a note saying the jury couldn't come to an agreement on a verdict. Juror No. 10 told Kobasher on Wednesday that she had made up her mind on the case after deliberations began Tuesday afternoon, that she felt attacked by other jurors, that other jurors were yelling at her during deliberations "like I'm wrong," and that she felt she was being coerced into changing her mind. Brooks' mother had alleged Wednesday she heard Juror No. 10 talking outside the courthouse about a witness lying on the stand. The two jurors she identified denied under questioning by Kobasher on Thursday that there was any discussion about the credibility of witnesses outside the jury room. Kobasher, defense attorney Denise Wilms and Assistant Lorain County Prosecutor Matt Kern reviewed courthouse surveillance video but failed to see any evidence that the juror had engaged in misconduct or violated the court's orders during a Wednesday afternoon cigarette break. Questioned by Kobasher, Juror No. 12 said she asked a bailiff if she could go past the crime scene or other locations mentioned during testimony. Told that was against the judge's orders, she said she dropped the idea. After questioning that juror and another, Kobasher said she didn't believe there was any basis "upon which to conclude juror misconduct occurred." Defense attorney Giovanna Bremke asked Kobasher to lower Brooks' $750,000 bond to a personal bond and that he would agree to be placed on a GPS monitor so he could be free pending a third trial. Brooks "has experienced things outside of his control," including trial delays due to changes in his legal representation and the COVID-19 pandemic. "The fear from the defense is that if this trial, a third trial results in a not guilty verdict, this time that he is sitting is essentially wasted time of this man's life," Bremke said. The mistrials speak to the strength, or lack thereof, of the state's evidence against Brooks, she said. "He is a man that is not convicted, is under the presumption of innocence, and has nevertheless sat for four years" with more possibly to come pending a third trial, Bremke said. Brooks' continued pretrial detention "is cruel and unusual punishment," she argued. Kern objected to a change in Brooks' status or bond without representatives of the victim's family present. They have a right to be in court for a bond hearing under the provisions of Marsy's Law, Ohio's crime victims rights law, he argued. Kobasher agreed, and said she would set a hearing on Brooks' bond at a later date. Secondly, Brooks "took off in headlong flight" after the killing and prosecutors are worried he could go on the run again, Kern argued, also mentioning Brooks' "extensive criminal history," something prosecutors typically are not allowed to bring up at trial. It isn't known if the jury was leaning toward a not guilty verdict or a guilty verdict. While questioning jurors about alleged misconduct, Kobasher told them not to reveal any specific information about their deliberations or which way they were leaning: guilty or not guilty. While arguing about bond, Kern suggested the 12-person jury was leaning 11-1 in favor of a conviction. "If anything, Mr. Brooks' guilt is nearly established," Kern said, "so the state believes that it does have a strong case and believes a $750,000 bond is appropriate not only to protect the community from (Brooks') ongoing lawlessness over the course of the last decade, but to ensure his appearance in court and to prevent his flight to avoid prosecution." "I would first like to note for the record, as he sits here, Mr. Brooks remains innocent," Kobasher replied. "So, whether a jury (voted) 7-5 one way or another or 11-1 a second time, that does not change the fact that he's presumed innocent still as he sits here today." Bremke blasted Kern's theory of the jury's leanings. There was no record or evidence that the jury in Brooks' first murder trial was hung 7-5 to convict or that this jury was hung 11-1 to convict Brooks, she said. Those were "simply the state's beliefs," Bremke said. "I also take issue with the fact that the state believes they have 'nearly' established his guilt" as Brooks "is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, which the state has not done," she said. Background and evidence Elyria police said Brooks' ex-girlfriend and the mother of two of his children, Byanka Tavarez, told detectives she saw Brooks shoot and kill Taylor, her boyfriend of six years, shortly before 3 a.m. March 19, 2019. Police and prosecutors said the motive was jealousy: Tavarez and Taylor were dating, and Brooks had been released from prison less than two months earlier. Elyria police detectives found video evidence showing a car that looked like Brooks' white BMW SUV driving north out of Elyria toward Lorain after the slaying. Brooks' girlfriend, Renee Richardson, did an internet search trying to find out if gunshot residue could be transferred to something someone touched in the hours just after Taylor's slaying, according to testimony presented in court. She has pleaded not guilty to evidence tampering in Common Pleas Court and is scheduled to go to trial June 21. As police arranged search and arrest warrants, they say Brooks left his car with his wallet, ID and a packed suitcase inside at Richardson's house in Lorain and fled the state. A day later, a North Carolina sheriff's deputy stopped a car carrying Brooks and three other men. Brooks gave what ended up being the name and date of birth of another man, was released, and remained on the run for eight more days, authorities said. Brooks turned himself in to federal authorities in Cincinnati on March 28, 2019, and has been in custody ever since. His defense in the first and second trials said there was no DNA, trace or ballistics evidence linking him to the killing, and the murder weapon was never recovered. Tavarez admitted she had been drinking the night before the fatal shooting and the defense argued that she lied when she identified Brooks as the shooter. Defense attorneys also said Elyria police didn't fully investigate the possibility that someone else shot Taylor, a convicted drug trafficker who was free on bond on felony drug charges and wearing an ankle monitor when he was killed. Brooks also had two alibi witnesses: His friend Leonard McCall, who said Brooks came over to his house the night before the murder to have drinks; and Brittany Duff, a Lorain woman who said she spent that evening and the hours before the murder with Brooks listening to music, getting fast food and chatting in his white BMW SUV parked in her driveway. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @DaveOBrienCT.