Tubbs gets 15 years to life in prison for 2017 homicide

By JUSTIN DENNIS

jdennis@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

The family of a slain father said they were pleased to see his killer receive the maximum prison sentence.

Last month, a jury convicted Jermaine Tubbs, 28, of fatally shooting 52-year-old Michael Brooks in April 2017. Judge Anthony D’Apolito of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, who called Brooks’ death “incredibly senseless and uncalled for,” sentenced Tubbs on Wednesday to 15 years to life on his murder charge.

The judge also found Tubbs guilty on one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm – a charge not reviewed during his trial – and added an additional six years for both that charge and the murder charge’s firearm specification.

Tubbs shot Brooks during an argument at the DuPont Circle home on the North Side he shared with his girlfriend, who was Brooks’ daughter, according to testimony. Tubbs testified at the trial that Brooks attacked him with a cane and he shot him out of self-defense.

Close to a dozen supporters surrounded Brooks’ wife, Sophia Jones-Brooks, and son, Mikhail Brooks, both of whom addressed the court.

Jones-Brooks called her husband the “most caring, wonderful man to live,” while naming Tubbs a “lowlife ... animal.” She asked Judge D’Apolito to offer Tubbs “no mercy, no remorse.”

Mikhail Brooks told the court he moved back home from New York to care for his father, whom he said was ailing but still “had better days in front of him.”

Addressing Tubbs, Mikhail Brooks said he knew the man “didn’t mean” to end his father’s life – and he wished both of them could have simply continued their lives.

“I just want this world to be better than it is now, so nobody has to lose a family member,” Mikhail Brooks said.

Tubbs’ defense attorney Douglas Taylor said Tubbs intends to appeal verdict.