Defendant in Houston murder trial: Gunman threatened me
PERRY -- A Warner Robins man on trial for felony murder in a home invasion gone awry said he donned a black mask and came in through the front door of the mobile home because the gunman had threatened to kill him and his children.
Nicholas C. “Nick” Brooks, 30, told his story to Houston County sheriff’s investigators in a videotaped interview that was played for jurors Wednesday afternoon in Houston County Superior Court.
“I didn’t have a gun,” Brooks pleaded with investigators on the videotape. “I wasn’t there to harm anybody. I was going in there because I was forced.”
Brooks, Michael Scott “Scotty” Cossette, 27, of Warner Robins, and Kelly Williamson, 22, of Centerville, are accused of the April 6, 2010, home invasion at 918 Collins Ave., Lot 60, in which Jason Blount, 31, of Houston County, was shot and killed. The three were high on methamphetamine and Cossette also on prescription drugs, according to testimony.
Cossette pleaded guilty to felony murder and burglary April 14 and was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole after 30 years.
Brooks also is on trial on charges of burglary, attempted armed robbery, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.
In the videotaped interview, Brooks, who often cried and placed his head down on a table, told of Cossette and Williamson planning the home invasion for drugs and cash. He also spoke of Cossette threatening his life and telling Brooks he knew where his children lived.
Out of fear, Brooks said he complied with Cossette’s plan, including cutting out his own mask from a black T-shirt. Brooks also told investigators that he hid the masks and a diagram Cossette and Williamson drew of the home in a trash bin at the home of a friend after the botched home invasion.
Brooks said fear also drove him to flee and later call his stepmother to get him, hiding out with her in a Byron motel and then a hotel in Locust Grove where he was arrested. He said she pleaded for him to go to the police but he told sheriff’s investigators he was too scared.
Cossette testified Wednesday that all three were in on the home invasion, which they expected to be easy without anyone getting hurt.
But Blount and his girlfriend were not expected to be at the mobile home that belonged to David Colleps, Cossette testified. Blount and his girlfriend were spending the night because the electricity was cut off at their residence.
When Cossette and Blount struggled, Cossette testified that his gun “bumped” against Blount and Blount was shot at “point-blank” range. Cossette told jurors that Brooks, whom he described as “his partner,” never had a gun.
Dr. James Whitaker, the medical examiner for Houston County, testified earlier in the trial that the deadly shot delivered to Blount’s chest had to have been fired from at least 18 inches away because a close-range shot would have left gunpowder residue that was not present on Blount.
Cossette told jurors that he agreed to testify for the negotiated plea between his attorney and the district attorney that included the reduced sentence. He testified he had been facing life plus 70 years. Also, pending charges against him related to a residential burglary and an auto theft were dismissed, and the agreement also included that Williamson would receive a less than life sentence, Cossette told jurors. Williamson’s case is pending, with a plea expected.
Williamson’s testimony during the trial was that the home invasion was orchestrated by Cossette and that Brooks initially didn’t want to do it but went along in the end.
The state rested its case Wednesday after testimony, which began Monday afternoon. The defense also rested Wednesday without calling any witnesses during the trial. Closing arguments are expected Thursday morning, with jury deliberations expected to begin Thursday.
To contact writer Becky Purser, call 256-9559.
This story was originally published April 28, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Defendant in Houston murder trial: Gunman threatened me."