Ivan Brooks charged with stalking ex-girlfriend who testified against him in 2019 Elyria murder case

Convicted of killing a romantic rival seven years ago and released from prison just a year ago, Ivan Brooks is facing felony charges he allegedly stalked the former girlfriend who testified against him at his three murder trials. "Do you see how easy it could be for me to find you?" Brooks allegedly told Byanka Tavarez after following her to her workplace in Avon on Nov. 26, throwing open her car door and telling her she was "going to make him kill her," according to a police report. In front of one of her coworkers, Brooks allegedly told Tavarez he would "'get away with it just like the other time'" and that he would "'not be dumb enough to do it in his car,'" according to an Avon police report. Brooks, 41, of Lorain, is scheduled to be arraigned April 2 in Lorain County Common Pleas Court on two counts of menacing by stalking, both felonies, and one count each of aggravated menacing and domestic violence threats, both misdemeanors. Court records did not list an attorney for Brooks. A message seeking comment on the case was left for attorney Denise Wilms, who is representing Brooks in a separate felony drug case filed last month. According to an Avon Police Department report, an officer responded to the Cleveland Clinic Rehabilitation Hospital on Nov. 26 to take a report of alleged menacing. Tavarez told the officer she had dropped off her boyfriend at work, then met a coworker in the hospital parking lot. That's when Brooks appeared, opened her car door and threatened her and her current boyfriend, according to the police report. Tavarez told police Brooks had been calling, texting and harassing her since he got out of prison in March 2025 after serving time for shooting and killing her boyfriend Terrence Taylor in 2019. Avon police said video evidence proved Brooks followed Tavarez to work in his burgundy 2013 Nissan Maxima, likely all the way from her home in Lorain. She told Avon police she was "very fearful for her safety." A hospital official asked police to ban Brooks from hospital property under threat of arrest. An officer called Brooks and told him he was trespassed, and Brooks said he understood according to the report. "I did not ask Brooks about this incident, but Brooks stated that he 'did not do anything,' but admitted to being at the hospital and making contact with Tavarez to ask about his children," Officer Steven Vogel wrote in his report. Brooks pleaded no contest in 2024 to involuntary manslaughter and other felony charges for shooting and killing Taylor, 45. The plea meant he didn't admit guilt, but admitted the truth of the allegations and kept some appeal rights. Tavarez testified Brooks shot and killed Taylor when Taylor answered the door at 841 Broad St. in Elyria early the morning of March 19, 2019. Brooks and Tavarez have children together, but Brooks had gone to prison and Tavarez was dating Taylor when he got out. Elyria police theorized Brooks killed Taylor out of jealousy. He allegedly fled Ohio following the murder but later returned and surrendered. Brooks denied killing Taylor, denied being in Elyria that night in his distinctive white BMW X3 SUV, and alibi witnesses put him in Lorain when Taylor was killed. His defense also suggested other suspects had motive to kill Taylor. Three murder trials over two years ended in hung juries, and Brooks took a plea deal. Judge Melissa Kobasher sentenced him to six years in prison but he was released after a year, having built up five years of credit for time served while awaiting trial. Brooks was arrested three times last year while serving a two-year term on post-release control, formerly known as parole. He will to be arraigned Monday in Judge Chris Cook's courtroom on felony cocaine trafficking, cocaine possession and failure to comply charges. Brooks allegedly failed to stop his car for Lorain police officers who then found 28 grams of cocaine in his pocket on Oct. 2. Being held in the Lorain Correctional Institution on post-release control violation, Brooks was transferred to the Lorain County Jail on Tuesday ahead of his court appearances this week. His release date is July 16, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com