Brookins arrest affidavit: Tommie and Brian Battie involved in gunfight with suspect

Melissa Pérez-Carrillo, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Updated ·3 min read

Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested a 28-year-old man on Wednesday in connection with the shooting that killed Tommie Battie IV and injured Brian Battie, a running back at Auburn University.

Darryl Bernard Brookins Jr. was identified as the suspect in the Tallywood Centre Plaza parking lot shooting that also injured three others early Saturday morning. The two brothers were in the parking lot of Hookah Lounge Marrakech when the shooting occurred at 3:30 a.m. The godmothers of Tommie IV and Brian Battie have since created a GoFundMe on behalf of the family. The campaign has raised more than $94,000 as of Wednesday afternoon.

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 immediately drawing a firearm and began shooting at the brothers. Both Tommie IV and Brian Battie returned gunfire. Brian Battie can be seen falling to the ground, while his brother fell to the ground shortly after.

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Brookins fled on foot and left his car at the crime scene. Hours after the shooting, detectives received Crimestoppers tips that reported Brookins as the shooter. After comparing photos of his driver’s license and social media with the surveillance footage, detectives were able to identity Brookins as the shooter.

This is one of three shooting deaths in Sarasota County over the last week.

Deputies arrested Brookins with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Task Force. A motive for the shooting was not immediately available or whether Brookins had any connection to the victims.

Brookins currently has two pending felony charges in Manatee County for sexual battery. The Manatee County Sheriff's Office Crimes Against Children Unit began an investigation into Brookins after a 17-year-old family member said she was assaulted by him when he was 27 years old.

After he was arrested for sexual battery, investigators began receiving calls from other victims who said they also were sexually assaulted, including another family member who was 18 years old at the time of the assault, court records said. Brookins would've been 25 years old at the time of the second reported assault.

He has since been charged with murder, attempted murder and as a felon in possession of a firearm. He was booked into the Sarasota County Correctional Facility.

As of May 21, there have been 11 shootings this year in Sarasota County that have killed six people and injured eight.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Man arrested in shooting of Auburn football player Brian Battie