OKLAHOMA CITY – A Lawton man well-known to southwest Oklahoma law enforcement officers was convicted April 15 in the Western District federal court in Oklahoma City with using a fake bomb to rob a Lawton financial institution 13 months ago.
John Scott Brooks, 38, was convicted after a two-day trial. The jury deliberated approximately two hours before finding him guilty of one count of bank robbery, but acquitted him on a charge of making a bomb threat.
At sentencing, Brooks faces up to 25 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000, and mandatory restitution. Sentencing will take place in approximately 90 days.
Brooks has been in custody since his arrest on April 2, 2020.
According to evidence at trial, Brooks pulled up to the drive-through teller lane at the Southwest Oklahoma Federal Credit Union located at 6714 West Gore Boulevard, at approximately 10:40 a.m. on March 23, 2020, and placed a fake bomb in the teller drawer. He immediately showed the teller a timer, which was counting down.
The teller placed $10,945, including three $20 “bait” bills, into the drawer “and sent it back to the robber,” an FBI agent wrote in an affidavit. The bandit “took the money, demand note, and device out of the drawer and drove away,” the agent reported.
Brooks subsequently altered the appearance of his vehicle, created a cover story, and erased electronic information from his cell phone, investigators reported.
An informant told investigators that Brooks was struggling financially and was “desperate for money.” He owned a construction company, the informant said, “and owed a lot of people money for construction materials.”
A civil suit was filed in Comanche County District Court in 2018 against Brooks and his construction company over a debt amounting to less than $10,000, the Oklahoma State Courts Network (OSCN) shows. Records indicate that case is still pending.
The FBI said the informant also claimed Brooks was diagnosed with bipolar disorder “and was not taking his medication consistently.”
Evidence introduced during the trial included bank surveillance footage of the robbery, a bank robbery list found at Brooks’ residence, and a vehicle image comparison analysis performed by an FBI forensic examiner. Multiple witnesses testified they recognized Brooks in the still photo of the surveillance footage taken from the robbery.
OSCN records reflect that in the past 19 years John Scott Brooks has been arrested by the Lawton Police Department, the Comanche County Sheriff’s Department, Tillman County law enforcement officers, and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol on multiple charges.
Brooks has one or more convictions for burglary, possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia, operating a motor vehicle without a valid driver’s license, being in actual physical control of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, driving while his license was canceled, suspended or revoked, and resisting arrest, court records show.