Calif. judge declines Brooks’ mental health court request

LAS VEGAS — A California judge declined to refer ex-Nevada Assemblyman Steven Brooks to a mental health court program that would have diverted him into treatment and held him accountable along the way.

The decision came at a court hearing Friday in Victorville, Calif. Another hearing is set for May 31 on the charges, which stem from a car chase and a police confrontation in March.

Brooks’ lawyer asked this week that Brooks be placed in the mental health court program. But representatives from the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office wouldn’t agree to probation, which is one of the conditions of being in the program, according to District Attorney spokesman Chris Lee.

“Members of the mental health court team collectively agreed that Mr. Brooks would not be a suitable candidate for mental health court,” Lee said.

Brooks, 41, remains in a jail in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.

He has pleaded not guilty to resisting an officer, felony evading and assault on a police animal charges filed after his March 28 arrest by Barstow police along Interstate 15.

The arrest, which was his third in a matter of months, came just hours after his fellow lawmakers voted to expel him from the Assembly. Legislators cited a pattern of bizarre behavior from Brooks that made them feel unsafe in the legislative building.

Meanwhile, Brooks faces other cases in Nevada.

He was indicted last month on a felony charge of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. That charge, which stems from a January arrest in North Las Vegas after he purportedly voiced threats against a fellow legislator, alleges Brooks shouldn’t have had a gun because he was an unlawful marijuana user.

He also was charged with a felony and three lesser counts in a Feb. 10 arrest that came as police responded to a domestic disturbance involving his estranged wife.

Brooks’ lawyer, Mitchell Posin, said the California case needs to be processed before the Nevada cases can move forward.