Nevada lawmaker freed from jail in threat case

LAS VEGAS - A Nevada lawmaker was freed from jail following his weekend arrest on a felony charge of threatening to harm a state Assembly party leader at a home in North Las Vegas, a police spokeswoman said Monday.

Democratic Assemblyman Steven Brooks, 40, was held a little more than 24 hours before his release from the Las Vegas city jail Sunday evening, North Las Vegas police officer Chrissie Coon said.

A judge had set bail at $100,000 on a charge of intimidating a public officer by threat of physical violence before, Coon said. The first court date is Jan. 28, one week before the legislative session begins.

If convicted, the charge could get the lawmaker one to five years in state prison and a $10,000 fine.

A man who answered the telephone at Brooks' home Monday asked for privacy and referred questions about the arrest to publicist Reggie Burton. The man hung up without identifying himself.

Burton said Brooks is innocent of the charges and plans to talk with reporters Tuesday morning in Carson City.

A message for Brooks' lawyer was not immediately returned.

Brooks was arrested Saturday while driving in North Las Vegas a little under two hours after police were called to a home on a report that a lawmaker had threatened harm to a colleague. Coon said witnesses corroborated the threat, but declined to specify the alleged threat or the person or people to whom it was directed.

The police spokeswoman wouldn't say Monday whether Brooks was armed when he was arrested.

Assembly Democratic Majority Leader William Horne told The Associated Press on Sunday that he and Assembly Democratic Speaker Marilyn Kirkpatrick were assigned security protection as a precaution because of the threat.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported the threat was directed at Kirkpatrick, who didn't respond to messages seeking comment.

The Legislature convenes Feb. 4. Horne declined to comment on published reports that Brooks was upset because of committee assignments Kirkpatrick gave him.

Brooks, a father of four, works as a city of Las Vegas management analyst in the Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services Department. He was elected to a second Assembly term in November. He has served on the boards of several organizations, including the Las Vegas Urban League, Hispanic Museum of Nevada and Community Land Trust.

City spokesman David Riggleman said Monday that city administrators will review Brooks' arrest as a personnel matter.