Having served almost a year in prison, the former executive director of the National Plasterers Council petitioned an appeals court seeking immediate release or a bail reduction as he awaits trial.
In late January, 2016, Mitch Brooks was arrested in his Port Charlotte, Fla. home and charged with three first-degree felonies, including two counts of grand theft in the first degree of $100,000 or more, and one of racketeering. According to the arrest report, a forensic accountant estimated that Brooks, through his association-management company Visioneering Consultants, stole approximately $1.5 million from the NPC. If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 90 years. He is held on $1.5 million in bail.
Brooks has not been able to post bail, and a previous petition for release was denied by the lower court. In a request to the District Court of Appeal seeking to overturn that decision, Brooks claimed it is illegal for him to continue being held in jail because he had no prior criminal history, is not charged with a violent offense, poses no safety threat and is not a flight risk because of local family ties and a shortage of financial resources.
Brooks called the bail amount excessive, because it clearly falls out of his reach. He also said the original order for arrest only called for $110,000 in bail and did not authorize modification of the amount. He said he is kept locked down because of a health problem and required treatment.
In opposing Brooks’ original petition for a bail reduction, the state said that the weight of evidence in this case warranted the higher amount, and that an inability for the defendant to pay does not alone make it excessive.
Brooks is seeking immediate release and, if denied that, a reduction of the bond amount. “[The Florida Constitution] entitles every person charged with a crime to be released on reasonable bail unless they are charged with a capital offense or an offense punishable by life imprisonment and the proof of guilt is evident or the presumption is great,” his petition said.
If released, he would submit to personal monitoring methods such as GPS, to show he isn’t a flight risk, he said.
This is Brooks’ second appeal, with the first dismissed because of a filing error.
In a petition to the lower court, he sought assignment with a new public defender, saying his current attorney has not been spending the necessary time with Brooks to properly handle his case. That request has been granted.
