Crime & Safety
BB Gun Bandit Pleads Guilty to Robberies
Tyler Brooks, who was turned in by his father, robbed three local businesses last month, not two, a San Diego County Sheriff's Department report states. Brooks plead guilty to charges against him Monday.
After initially denying guilt in two BB gun robberies in Imperial Beach, 18-year-old Tyler Brooks has pleaded guilty in a plea deal involving three offenses, authorities said Tuesday.
Sheriff's Department records show that Brooks is suspected of robbing three businesses in 10 minutes Jan. 21—not two as previously stated.
At a readiness conference Monday, Brooks pleaded guilty to one count of robbery and one count of attempted robbery, said Deputy District Attorney Janice De Leon.
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Brooks faces up to seven years in prison, De Leon says.
A third attempted robbery charge was dropped as part of a plea deal, she said.
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Armed with a BB gun, Brooks attempted to rob J&T Nails in the 600 block of 9th Street at 5:50 p.m. Jan. 21.
Four minutes later he moved across the street to try and rob I.B. Nutrition, authorities said.
I.B. Nutrition specializes in supplying products for the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program for low-income families.
After a second unsucccessful robbery, Brooks allegedly went up the street and at 5:59 p.m. took $169 from Imperial Beach Pharmacy.
Hours later, his father turned in Brooks after hearing reports of the burglary broadcast by the sheriff's ASTREA helicopter, said Lt. Marco Garmo.
Unlike robberies at Imperial Beach Pharmacy and J&T Nails, the IB Nutrition robbery was not reported until Jan. 25, a day after Brooks entered an initial not guilty plea in a South County courtroom.
About 30 minutes after the I.B. Nutrition robbery was reported, Brooks was again arrested at his father’s home shortly after 9:30 a.m., a sheriff's report stated.
Following the second arrest, charges against Brooks were changed and his bail was increased from $200,000 to $300,000, said District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Tanya Sierra.
Sentencing for Brooks is set for 8:30 a.m. April 16 in Department 9 of the South County Courthouse, Sierra said.
In an unrelated incident, at 5 p.m. Jan. 21 in the 300 block of Caspian Way two armed men allegedly robbed a medical marijuana delivery service.
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