A coastal Georgia city official was arrested on charges of obstructing law enforcement and influencing a witness in the case involving a 13-month-old boy who was fatally shot last week.
David Tucker — an attorney for Brunswick city councilman and mayor pro tem James Henry Brooks — told WTLF-TV that his client was arrested for stepping between police and the mother of 17-year-old suspect De’Marquise Elkins when police tried speaking with her during a court appearance Monday.
Brooks — who also faces racketeering charges in Camden County — was being held Thursday night in the Glynn County jail on $1,256 bond for obstruction. He is also being held without bond on the charge of influencing a witness, sheriff’s officials said.
Brooks’ arrest came as investigators were looking at a possible gang tie in the slaying of a Georgia toddler. They said Thursday that a bullet used in the shooting had been recovered.
More search warrants were executed Wednesday night, though Glynn County Police Chief Matt Doering didn’t say specifically what evidence might have been found.
The chief did reveal Thursday that investigators have recovered the bullet they believe was fired in the killing of 13-month-old Antonio Santiago as his mother strolled him down a sidewalk on March 21 in Brunswick, a town on Georgia‘s coast. The bullet and a .22-caliber handgun, which was found submerged in a pond two miles from the crime scene, are now being analyzed at a crime lab.
Elkins and another teenager have been charged as adults with murder and other counts.
When asked directly whether it’s possible the shooting was a part of a gang initiation, Doering wouldn’t go that far, saying investigators are exploring “whether gang involvement is part of this.”
Police are concerned about the safety of witnesses in the emotionally charged case, the chief said. However, he pleaded with people who have information to come forward, and to put aside their fears in the interest of justice.
“We know there are still witnesses out there, people who have information,” Doering said.
An indictment returned this week accuses Elkins of shooting the toddler in the face.