Dayton man pleads guilty to involuntary manslaughter in death of accomplice

Montgomery County Common Pleas Courtroom. JIM NOELKER/STAFF FILE

Credit: JIM NOELKER

Credit: JIM NOELKER

Montgomery County Common Pleas Courtroom. JIM NOELKER/STAFF FILE

A man pleaded guilty last week to involuntary manslaughter following an attempted robbery two years ago in Dayton that ended with the shooting death of his alleged accomplice.

Robert Anthony Brooks, 34, of Dayton, is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 5 in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court for his role in the death of 25-year-old Kato D. Knight, also of Dayton.

Robert Brooks

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

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Credit: Montgomery County Jail

Brooks and Knight on Oct. 4, 2020, attempted to rob a man as he was sleeping inside his vehicle in the 3900 block of Necco Avenue, according to an affidavit filed in Dayton Municipal Court.

The man in the vehicle told police that he was awakened by a man who asked “You know what this is?” as a second man approached with a gun, a detective wrote in an affidavit.

“[The man] stated that he was in fear for his life and believed that they were going to shoot him,” the affidavit read. “[The man in the vehicle] advised that he produced his personally owned pistol and fired rounds at both men as they began to fire at him.”

Knight ran away and was found on Cornell Drive. A woman called 911 and said that a man was falling down at her door and asking for help. Knight had been shot multiple times. He taken to Miami Valley Hospital, where he died of his injuries.

Brooks initially was charged with murder for Knight’s death because under Ohio law, a person can be held responsible for a death that occurs while committing or attempting to commit a violent offense.

Brooks was indicted by a county grand jury for four counts of murder and two counts each of aggravated robbery, felonious assault and having weapons under disability. As part of his Nov. 28 plea, the other counts were dismissed, according to the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office.

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