CHARLOTTE — Channel 9 has learned that police have made a second arrest nearly one year after a beloved Charlotte sandwich shop co-owner was robbed and killed in NoDa.
Reporter Mark Becker confirmed Tuesday that Charlotte-Mecklenburg police arrested Steven Staples in the murder of Scott Brooks. Police said Staples was already in custody on a different homicide arrest.
Before dawn on Dec. 9, 2019, Brooks was opening up Brooks' Sandwich House when police said Staples, 31, and Terry Conner Jr., 33, robbed him and then shot him to death.
Conner was arrested in early March.
On Tuesday, after police announced the second arrest, Channel 9 spoke with Scott Brooks' brother and business partner, David Brooks, outside the family business.
“We have to get justice, not just for us, but for families of the 100-plus killed in Charlotte this year,” he said.
David Brooks told Channel 9 he got a call from police Tuesday morning telling him they’d made an arrest.
“I got the news today and some of it’s a little bit sketchy, but at least both of these guys are in custody right now,” he said. “I really don’t know, with the COVID thing, what’s going to happen with the court system right now, but at least it gives me a little bit of assurance that something is going to happen.”
Staples has been charged with murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon, conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon, kidnapping and possession of a firearm by a felon.
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Past coverage:
- Hundreds wait in line as Brooks' Sandwich House reopens after co-owner’s slaying
- Artist’s mural on popular NoDa sandwich shop honors slain co-owner
- More than a burger: Panthers owner, coach visit Brooks' Sandwich House after tragedy
- CMPD releases surveillance video of suspects in NoDa sandwich shop co-owner’s slaying
- Landmark NoDa sandwich shop will reopen after tragedy, but with different hours
- Police investigate homicide outside Brooks' Sandwich House in NoDa
- Charlotte restaurateurs react after murder of Brooks' Sandwich House co-owner
- ‘It hurts’: NoDa grieving after man murdered outside his sandwich shop
- Family, NoDa community to say final goodbyes to beloved sandwich shop co-owner
- Brooks' Sandwich Shop in NoDa named one of nation’s ‘Best Classic Restaurants’
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CMPD said Scott Brooks was getting his business on North Brevard Street ready to open when he was shot. When officers got there, they found him suffering from a gunshot wound outside the eatery. He was pronounced dead shortly after.
Earlier this year, police released several images and surveillance clips from the morning of the murder showing two masked men creeping around the business and at least one of the men was holding a gun. Arrest warrants said $100 was stolen from Brooks.
Brooks' Sandwich House has been a family-run business since 1973, according to its website. The Brooks brothers took over the business from their father and now a third generation of Brooks help run the joint.
The business reopened on Feb. 1, but no longer serves breakfast so employees will not be there when it’s dark.
After Scott Brooks was killed, his family saw a tremendous outpouring of support, and it was evident again on Tuesday from people who’ve been coming to the sandwich shop for years.
“My dad used to bring me here when I was a small child,” said Patricia Hampton. “I started bringing my children here when they were growing up, so to hear that news -- the tragic news that he had been murdered -- was very devastating for my family. And I’m so glad to know that all of this is coming to closure for the family. This is what they need -- closure.”
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“A senseless string of violent crime”
On Tuesday, CMPD laid out Staples' criminal history and said he is connected to five different homicides in the past year, including Brooks’.
Police said he is suspected in the slaying of Anthony Leakes in Charlotte on Dec. 23.
Staples and Conner, who detectives described on Tuesday as “partners in crime,” have also been charged in connection with a separate double homicide. CMPD said the pair were charged for their role in the murder of Asa Shannon and Siojvon Joseph. Police found them dead inside a car on the side of Atando Avenue on Jan. 11.
A third man, Everett Connor, is already facing murder charges in that double homicide. Sources told Channel 9 Terry and Everett are brothers.
Investigators also said that Staples shot and killed Andres Moscotte in Hickory on Jan 23. Police found Moscotte in the yard outside his home on 22nd Street. His girlfriend told Channel 9 she heard arguing before shots were fired. She said the suspects then stole her boyfriend’s car.
Jalen Witherspoon is also charged in the case.
Police said Staples has been in jail since Feb. 6, after he was arrested for the Hickory homicide.
Check back with wsoctv.com for updates on this developing story.
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