Court testimony begins in killing of Brooks Sandwich House co-owner in Charlotte

Two men accused of killing a beloved NoDa sandwich shop owner in 2019 ambushed him and then shot him during a robbery after he made an attempt to defend himself, a prosecutor said Friday during opening arguments in their trial.

Terry Conner and Steven Staples face a jury trial in Mecklenburg County Superior Court in the killing of Brooks Sandwich House co-owner Scott Brooks on Dec. 9, 2019.

Brooks, 61, co-owned the restaurant with his twin brother. Like the twins, Conner and Staples “also worked like brothers,” Assistant District Attorney Heidi Perlman told the jury — but in a less noble business.

She said they “ambushed” Brooks from both sides outside the sandwich shop early that morning as he prepared to get to work, then took his wallet and cash. Prepared with hoods, masks and gloves, they shot and killed him before fleeing, she said.

Brooks carried a small gun in his front right pocket, which he had tried to defend himself with, she said. Then he was shot.

Victim’s brother testifies

The other Brooks twin, David Brooks, shared their special bond with jurors. They had taken over the restaurant that their father started back in 1973, when NoDa was just north Charlotte. They split the work with one manning the register and the other cooking, and they served burgers “the old way,” or Carolina style with mustard, chili and onions.

The neighborhood had changed and grown, but not the food, David Brooks said.

The brothers had their special way of talking to each other and even knew what the other was thinking, he said.

“I miss that so bad,” he said Friday.

Defense attorney Kenneth Snow predicted to jurors that prosecutors would rely heavily on a star witness, a woman who had Conner’s child. Earlier, Perlman had said that DNA evidence traced bullet projectiles to her.

“Without her, there would be no case,” Snow told the jury, reminding them that the burden of proof was on the state.

Staples’ defense attorney, Laura Baker, also got an early start trying to poke holes in the prosecution.

“The state is not going to have a murder weapon to show you,” she said.

A 911 custodian at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, an officer who responded and a neighbor who heard gunshots also testified Friday.

“That’s one of the owners of Brooks,” that officer, Todd Munn, told others on scene in body camera footage that the jury saw.

Mun had worked in that division, Eastway, for years. He recognized Brooks as soon as he walked up, he said, since they had spoken before and since he knew Brooks was often at the shop early in the morning to prep for the breakfast crowd.

The trial is expected to take weeks. Its schedule could be affected by Thanksgiving, too.

Ryan Oehrli covers criminal justice in the Charlotte region for The Charlotte Observer. His work is produced with financial support from the nonprofit The Just Trust. The Observer maintains full editorial control of its journalism.

This story was originally published November 7, 2025 at 6:50 PM.