LAS VEGAS (AP) — Former Nevada Assemblyman Steven Brooks was ordered Tuesday to more court proceedings after a Barstow police officer testified about a car chase and police confrontation in March.
At a preliminary hearing in Victorville, Calif., before Judge Lynn Poncin, Brooks was ordered to appear in Superior Court on the charges, which include evading an officer, resisting an officer and harming a police animal. An arraignment date was set for Aug. 6.
Officer William Spiller testified that on March 28, a disheveled Brooks had been arguing with a tow truck driver about a flat tire. When police arrived, Brooks got in his car and drove off, Spiller said.
A pursuit lasted 20 minutes and carried on for about 23 miles, officials said.
Spiller said that at one point, Brooks stopped his vehicle and flipped off police with his middle finger before continuing on the road, according to KSNV-TV.
The ordeal ended after police stopped the vehicle with a spike strip and fought with Brooks along Interstate 15 in Victorville.
Brooks, 41, has been in a San Bernardino County jail ever since.
The confrontation came just hours after Nevada lawmakers voted to expel the Democrat from the Legislature, saying he’d shown a pattern of bizarre behavior, and they didn’t feel safe with him in the legislative building.
Brooks’ defense previously requested that he be diverted into a mental health court program that could have released him from jail on probation, but the request was rejected.
Brooks’ lawyer, Deputy Public Defender Paul Henderson, did not return a call seeking comment on Tuesday.