GRAVETTE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) – A local soccer coach is accused of threatening the mother of a player, according to court documents.
James Brooks Jr., 51, was arrested on May 11 on suspicion of first-degree terroristic threats. He was released on May 14 on $7,500 bail, according to bookings.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Gravette Police received a report on May 11 that a coach at a Gravette soccer field had threatened to physically harm her daughter, Adelaide Heldt.
According to the affidavit, the caller told police that Brooks had threatened to split Hert's head open and that her husband needed to put a leash on Hert to control him.
Documents say Brooks was yelling at Herdt's daughter, who has autism, and was confusing her. Herdt told police she had been talking to her daughter from the sidelines to make sure she understood what she wanted from her daughter.
Heldt said Brooks walked toward her, got in her face and told her that she was the reason her daughter was “bad at” soccer. According to her affidavit, she told Brooks not to talk like that about her child, and after her informant got between them, Brooks told Brooks to stop talking like that about her child. Should he elbow her in the face? She responded that she was going to do it, he said.
The two men broke up the argument and Mr. Brooks left.
GPD spoke to three witnesses with similar accounts of the incident, documents said.
When Brooks spoke with authorities, he said his mother approached him threatening to hit him. He said he reacted to his mother's actions due to post-traumatic stress disorder.
Brooks' father told GPD that his mother was right in front of his son, but he could not hear him threatening her.
According to court documents, Brooks has been ordered to have no contact with the player's mother.
Brooks' court date is set for June 17.