Brian Battie shooting: Suspect's girlfriend arrested, dumped gun in river, deputies say
Investigators have arrested the girlfriend of the suspect who shot at brothers Tommie Battie IV and Brian Battie, an Auburn running back.
Darryl Brookins Jr.’s girlfriend, Nicole Roberts, 29, was arrested on Friday after surveillance footage allegedly showed her disposing of the gun used in the May 18 shooting and purchasing first-aid items hours after the shooting, according to an arrest report filed with the Sarasota County court.
Roberts will be charged with accessory to second-degree murder with a firearm, authorities said. Brookins was arrested on May 22 by Sarasota County Sheriff's Office deputies. While a Manatee County Sheriff's Office deputy arrested Roberts, the shooting is jointly being investigated by the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office.
Tommie Battie IV and Brian Battie were in the parking lot of Hookah Lounge Marrakech when the shooting occurred at 3:30 a.m. on May 18. Tommie Battie, 24, was pronounced dead at the scene. His brother, Brian Battie, 22, was taken to a local hospital where he has remained in critical condition after sustaining a gunshot wound to the head. Court records said that he faces “the prognosis of permanent paralysis if he survives.”
'Getting better': Brian Battie's condition improves, could face paralysis, court records say
Report provides investigation details
“Through the investigation, it was determined that Nicole Roberts aided and abetted Darryl Brookins with a conscious intent that he committed the crimes and did several acts which were intended to, and which did encourage or assist Darryl Brookins to actually commit the crimes,” investigators alleged in an arrest report.
Investigators said they learned that a white Hyundai Elantra that was rented by Roberts left the shooting site at 3:26 a.m. At 3:37 a.m., the car stopped at a community adjacent to the shooting site and in the direction of where Brookins fled following the shooting, investigators alleged in the arrest report. The car traveled north into Manatee County where it ended up driving in circles through a waterfront community in Whitfield.
Brookins arrest affidavit: Tommie and Brian Battie involved in gunfight with suspect
Investigators concluded the action “appeared as if they were attempting to discard the firearm into a body of water,” the report stated. “However, this was a tightly packed residential community with no direct access to a waterfront without being noticed.”
Investigators said they later learned that at 4:06 a.m. the car was in Bradenton at Riverside Drive East and 24th Street NE after they obtained surveillance footage that showed the car parked along the Manatee River.
The footage shows a woman exiting the driver’s seat, walking onto a dock behind 215 24th Street NE and discarding an item into the Manatee River. The stature and body type of the woman in the video footage matched Roberts, investigators allege.
Later that day, the white Hyundai Elantra traveled to a Sarasota Walgreens at 3155 University Parkway and a McDonald’s at 8494 Lockwood Ridge Road. Roberts is reportedly seen entering the Walgreens and purchasing first- aid items, including wound closure strips and blood control spray.
On May 30 detectives from the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office Underwater Recovery Force went to 315 24th Street NE in Bradenton and recovered a 9mm Glock firearm in the same area where surveillance footage reportedly captured Roberts discarding it, the report stated.
Moments before the shooting, video footage from surrounding businesses showed Brookins leaning against the window of the business, as Tommie IV and Brian Battie walked toward him. Brookins is then seen drawing a firearm and shooting at the brothers. Both Tommie IV and Brian Battie returned gunfire. Brian Battie can be seen falling to the ground, while his brother did so shortly after.
Roberts has a pretrial detention hearing on June 7. Brookins has been charged with murder, attempted murder and as a felon in possession of a firearm. He was booked into the Sarasota County Correctional Facility and has a criminal arraignment hearing on July 3.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Suspect's girlfriend arrested in shooting of Battie brothers
