Man Pleads Guilty to Silver City Attempted Carjacking

Earlier today, Kevin Maurice Brooks, 48, of Detroit, Michigan, pled guilty to a three-count second superseding indictment in federal court in Las Cruces. The indictment alleged that Brooks committed an attempted carjacking and related firearms charges on September 27, 2009, in Silver City, New Mexico.

According to a criminal complaint filed in May 2009, Brooks and his co-defendant Stephanie Landon, 35, of Silver City, were living in a camper trailer next to a mobile home occupied by the victims, David Vega, his wife Christy, and Christy’s minor daughter, when Brooks and Landon attempted to carjack the victims’ 1998 Ford Taurus. During an argument between Brooks and the victims, Brooks pointed a .40 caliber handgun at Mr. Vega and ordered him to retrieve the keys to the Ford Taurus. As Mr. Vega went to get the keys, Brooks fired a shot that missed Mr. Vega by a few feet. According to the complaint, Mr. Vega retrieved the keys and gave them to Brooks, who went outside and handed them to Landon. Brooks then went back inside the mobile home and told the victims that he was going to kill them. The complaint alleged that Christy’s daughter was present during this exchange and that she begged Brooks not to kill her parents. Brooks then fired two more shots in the direction of the victims, missing them by less than a foot.

Landon returned to the mobile home after loading the car and told Brooks that it was time to leave. Brooks asked Landon what he should do, and Landon told him: “You do what you think is best.” According to the complaint, Landon looked at Mr. and Mr. Vega and said: “You know what, just shoot them,” and walked back outside. Brooks again told the victims he was going to kill them and pulled a bandana over his face. Before Brooks could pull the trigger, however, Grant County Sheriff’s deputies arrived on the scene in response to a neighbor’s report of “shots fired.” The deputies ordered everyone outside and arrested Brooks and Landon.

United States Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales stated:

“Because of the quick response by the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, innocent lives were saved in this case. Everyone in New Mexico should be able to feel secure in their homes, and I commend the dedicated efforts of the prosecutors in my office and of federal and local law enforcement who, working together, make our communities safer by arresting and prosecuting violent offenders.”

Brooks, who has been in custody since his arrest, pled guilty to attempted carjacking, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2119; using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c); and being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g). Brooks faces a sentence of not more than 15 years for the attempted carjacking, a mandatory 10-year sentence for use of a firearm, which must be served consecutively to any other sentence imposed in case, and up to 10 years for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Brooks also faces up to three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine on each charge.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Las Cruces, the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Silver City Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mark Saltman and Michael Nammar.