Corona Basketball Assault Suspect Pleads 'Not Guilty' Held On $1M Bail

CORONA, CA —A convicted felon accused of punching female athletes during an altercation at a Corona high school basketball game and later threatening the lives of other students with a gun pleaded not guilty Friday to multiple felony and misdemeanor offenses.

Thaddis Lamont Brooks, 39, of Perris was arrested earlier this month following a Corona Police Department investigation.

Brooks is charged with six counts of making criminal threats of death or great bodily injury, four counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, three counts of battery, two counts of brandishing a gun and one count each of possession of a firearm on school grounds, witness intimidation and being a felon in possession of a gun, with sentence-enhancing allegations of using a firearm in the commission of a felony.

The defendant was arraigned before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Charles Koosed, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for March 23 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.

Brooks, who is acting as his own attorney, is being held on $1 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside.

According to Corona police Sgt. Jason Waldon, on the evening of Jan. 24, the defendant attended a game at Centennial High School, where the Huskies were taking on the Santiago High School Sharks.

Waldon said a fight erupted between two players, prompting Brooks to jump out of his seat and enter the fray.

Video on Twitter shows the game in question where Brooks "punched several female athletes before being restrained," the sergeant said.

Waldon alleged that Brooks then headed out of the gymnasium, stating that he intended to get a gun.

"The suspect walked to the parking lot and retrieved a handgun from his vehicle," Waldon said. "While in the parking lot, the suspect pointed the handgun at several students and threatened to shoot them. The suspect fled the area just before officers arrived at the school."

Detectives followed up with witnesses and obtained additional evidence pointing to Brooks as the alleged assailant, according to Waldon.

He said that a search warrant was obtained and served at the defendant's residence on Chamberlain Creek Way, where officers took him into custody without incident on Feb. 2 and discovered over 40 dogs on his property, showing signs of alleged mistreatment.

"The city of Perris Animal Control Services responded to the residence to investigate the animals' welfare and determined there were animal cruelty factors present due to the conditions of the residence," Waldon said.

Animal control officers impounded the canines.

According to court records, Brooks has several convictions in another jurisdiction for which he served time in state prison, though the offenses weren't listed.