ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, February 15, 1997 TAG: 9702170033
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BETTY HAYDEN SNIDER STAFF WRITER
POLICE SAY they have several reasons for waiting to charge Ronald Brooks Jr. with Lisa Sizemore's death.
Police have delayed charging a 32-year-old Roanoke County man in the shooting death of his ex-girlfriend because he remains hospitalized and arresting him could create financial and legal problems.
Ronald Brooks Jr., still a patient at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, is recovering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound that does not appear to be life-threatening, Roanoke County police Capt. Ray Lavinder said. Police expect to charge Brooks with murder once he is discharged.
Lavinder said his detectives have not been allowed to interview Brooks since last Saturday night, when Lisa Sizemore was shot to death outside his home at 5745 Malvern Road. Because of patient confidentiality rules, police said, hospital administrators have not told them when Brooks will be released.
If police arrest Brooks while he is in the hospital, it could present several problems, Lavinder said:
* The county might have to pay his medical bills.
* At his arrest, Brooks must be brought to a magistrate to set bail, and within 48 hours he must be arraigned before a judge. If the hospital didn't release him, those court processes would have to be brought to Brooks.
* Once he was arrested, police would be responsible for guarding Brooks' room 24 hours a day, a costly proposition.
Sizemore and Brooks had recently broken off their relationship, and Sizemore had moved out of Brooks' home within the past several weeks, police said. Last Saturday, according to a witness, Brooks told her to come get her belongings because he was going to throw them out on the road. Sizemore was shot to death as she walked to Brooks' front door.
Sizemore's funeral was held Friday. She is survived by two sons, Drew and Michael Sizemore.
LENGTH: Short : 44 lines KEYWORDS: ROMURby CNB