A Winona man, facing identity theft charges and a Thursday preliminary hearing, collapsed in the courtroom during his initial appearance on Jan. 26.
Marcus Brown went before Judge Keith Stokes Roberts to determine his initial bond, which was set at $250,000, and Brown requested it be lowered. Judge Roberts appointed Payne Horan to represent Brown at the hearing.
A noticeably high bond was set because “Brown is out on felony bond for nine counts of aggravated identity theft, which is similar to what we charge at a state level,” arresting officer B.J. Edwards stated.
Brown also has a “history and repetitive nature of community crimes,” Edwards said.
Judge Roberts asked if Edwards had spoken with the victim of this particular case, and Edwards responded that Capt. Matt Miletello, who was not present, had spoken with the victim.
Prosecuting Attorney Jennifer Adams-Williams asked Edwards if he’d “found anything that would possibly link Mr. Brown to this charge?”
Edwards replied “Upon his arrest, I recovered documents, a credit card application as well as, I believe, another [piece of] mail addressed to [the victim]. The credit card application had [the victim’s] name, date of birth, everything as [Brown] was gonna apply for a credit line.”
Horan asked Edwards if he was aware of Brown’s criminal history over the course of the investigation, to which Edwards responded that he did not recall off the top of his head, “but I will say I was the arresting officer on the original case where he was bound over to or passed off to the federal agent.”
Horan asked if Brown was still under federal investigation, to which Edwards replied that Brown was not, but he is currently awaiting federal charges. He also asked Edwards if Brown had ever jumped bail, and Edwards responded, “not to my knowledge.” Horan argued in Brown’s defense that none of his federal charges were violent in nature and asked for his bond to be reduced.
Judge Roberts asked the prosecution to make a motion, and Adams-Williams said “If [the bond] is at $250,000, the prosecution asked that the bond be “no lower than $125,000.”
Horan again asserted Brown could be easily retrieved for his preliminary hearing.
Adams-Williams countered the bond is set in regard to whether or not a person will appear in court, and Brown remaining in custody is in the “best interest of the community.”
“If he has pending eight or nine charges, then it shows that he’s a threat to the community. It may not be in a violent way, but it seems as if the officer already testified that he was caught with these documents. He may not be a flight risk, but he’s a threat to the community in a financial way,” said Adams-Williams.
Horan had no rebuttal, and Judge Roberts made his ruling.
“Based upon what the court has heard, the bond will be reduced to $125,000. We’re going to have the preliminary hearing within two weeks,” Judge Roberts ruled.
He then informed Brown he was remanded back into the custody of the Winona Police Department.
The court went briefly into recess, and Edwards asked Officer Tanareika Williams to escort Brown to his seat at the back of the courtroom. Brown began to experience difficulty walking. Once Brown returned to his seat, he fell back into his chair and then collapsed on the floor, appearing to be seize uncontrollably.
Edwards ordered Williams to call MedStat, and several officers attempted to put Brown on his side in an effort to help him. MedStat arrived approximately 12 minutes after Brown started showing signs of distress, and he hit his head against the ground several times before he was stopped by officers.
Two paramedics began assessing the situation and administering care. One paramedic explained that the seizure should have been slowing down by that point, though it did not appear that Brown had stopped. Throughout this time, he kept emitting a sound from his mouth that continued even as he was being put onto a stretcher and left the room. The paramedics left, with Williams as their escort in the ambulance.
