Global Courant 2023-05-03 22:13:25
A violent career criminal who was on the streets and not in jail because she was assigned psychiatric treatment instead of jail time is accused of murdering an innocent Los Angeles father.
Jade Simone Brookfield, 23, was arrested in April and charged with murder after allegedly fatally stabbing 40-year-old Dennis Banner during an argument in the street. Law enforcement sources tell Fox News that Brookfield had a long criminal history of alleged assault, assault with a deadly weapon and multiple violent crimes involving knives, but had inexplicably avoided incarceration and received repeated mental health diversions.
It took a family to lose their father before Brookfield’s distraction ended, and only now is the suspect finally taken into custody.
This heartbreaking case is a prime example of the disaster that can happen when California’s riotous mental health distraction laws combine with LA District Attorney George Gascon’s progressive approach to seeking distractions whenever possible.
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Jade Simone Brookfield, 23, is charged with the murder of 40-year-old Dennis Banner, a father of two. (Fox news)
“We appreciate the public concern when someone participates in a mental health program and is alleged to be committing a serious crime,” Gascon’s office said in a statement. “Our prosecutors are making the best possible decisions in light of all available information. Our hearts go out to all of the victims in this case and we stand ready to support them on their journey to healing.”
Law enforcement sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly about the case, shared details and a timeline of Brookfield’s arrest record and violent criminal history.
Brookfield’s first encounter with the Los Angeles Police Department took place in the early spring of 2020, during Gascon’s first year in office. Brookfield was arrested for attempted murder after stabbing a woman in the chest with a knife and puncturing her lung.
Prosecution of the crime was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. By then, the court reduced Brookfield’s charge of assault with a deadly weapon — still a misdemeanor charge that counts as one “strike” under California’s Three Strikes law — and prosecutors agreed to a deal whereby Brookfield’s mental health services instead of jail time.
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The Los Angeles Attorney’s Office, George Gascon, repeatedly refused to seek jail time for Jade Simone Brookfield, a violent repeat offender. (KCBS TV)
A source said Brookfield had gone into hiding and was initially removed from the diversionary program. However, she was allowed to re-enlist as a distraction and was given another chance.
In September 2021, Brookfield was arrested for battery of a peace officer. She was again given a mental health distraction and Gascon’s office dismissed the case.
Three months later in December, Brookfield was arrested for a third time for making criminal threats after she allegedly assaulted a man, drew two knives and threatened to kill him. Despite her known record of violent assault, prosecutors dismissed the case due to a lack of evidence, Gascon’s office said.
Brookfield remained in the mental health diversion program, but it doesn’t seem to have helped her. In March 2023, Brookfield was arrested for a fourth time for another felony with a knife. According to police sources, she allegedly waved a knife several times at a bus driver who missed her exit.
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Dennis Banner, 40, was fatally stabbed to death last month. His suspected killer, Jade Simone Brookfield, had a history of committing violent crimes with knives but was never jailed, police sources say. (Fox news)
Despite her criminal history, and despite this arrest being a flagrant violation of her distraction, Brookfield was inexplicably released with an ankle bracelet, a decision that turned out to have deadly consequences.
Just weeks after her release for a second assault involving a deadly gun arrest, Brookfield was arrested and charged in Banner’s death.
Banner, a father of two young girls, was killed with a knife.
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The union representing Los Angeles deputy district attorneys said Gascon is guilty.
“The time to build a functional mental health system was two and a half years ago. Instead, George Gascón offered tweets, press conferences and his thoughts and prayers. That’s not enough. It’s irresponsible. And it’s dangerous, said Vice President Eric Siddall of the Association of Deputy District Attorney. “Letting people back on the streets unsupervised is not the solution. LA County needs to build a system of locked down psychiatric facilities to treat people with serious mental health problems.”
Bill Melugin currently serves as the national correspondent for FOX News Channel from its Los Angeles bureau.
