Father speaks out after son, U.S. Army Reservist murdered over rent dispute
BALTIMORE – The last time Jeffery Brooks, Sr. spoke with his son Jeffery, Jr. was March 22, 2023, just before his disappearance.
Jeffery Brooks, Jr.'s body was found March 25 in the back seat of his Subaru along Harford Road with a single gunshot wound to his head.
In an exclusive with our media partner, the Baltimore Banner, Jeffery brooks Sr. opened up about his son's disappearance and death.
"He was only 22 years old. He had his whole life ahead of him," Brooks, Sr. said. "When I called him Thursday morning, he didn't answer his phone and that kind of made me nervous."
Police arrested Brooks Jr.'s roommate Markis Russell and charged him with murder. The two had a dispute over money, "a little over $300," according to charging documents.
Russell, 24, told detectives the argument got physical and Brooks had a knife, according to the Statement of Probable Cause.
Detectives say Russell removed Brooks' body from their Mary Avenue home and tried to clean up the crime scene, all while Brooks was reported missing. The charging documents also say Brooks' girlfriend noticed the carpet was wet when she came to the home during his disappearance.
"We never got that (police officers) took our concerns seriously enough to act on it more as a Missing Person," Brooks, Sr. said. "We just hope where the police failed my son in escalating his Missing Person report, we hope the judicial system as a whole don't fail us."."
A Baltimore City Police spokesperson would not address specific allegations, but noted detectives made an arrest within 48 hours of Brooks' disappearance.
Russell and Brooks were both U.S. Army Reservists. Brooks, Sr. said his son planned on getting married and advancing his career.
"He was a hard worker. He was an uncle. He was a brother, nephew, cousin," Brooks, Sr. said. "There's not a day go by the family doesn't mourn in some way or fashion."
Russell's arraignment is schedule 9 a.m. Monday, March 15, according to Maryland Judiciary Case Search.
