Malik Brooks

Malik Brooks, a 24-year-old Black man from El Paso, Texas, was an aspiring rapper with a generous spirit. His mother, Demetra Holland, remembered him as a happy and fun-loving person who would always help others. "He would give you his last, he would take the shirt off of his back to make sure that you had something," she said. Holland described her son as her best friend, expressing profound grief over his violent death.

In late March 2023, Brooks was lured to Tucson, Arizona, with the promise that he was going to perform at a rap concert. His mother pleaded with him not to go, telling him it didn't seem right for him to travel by himself. Just five minutes before he was killed, Brooks was on the phone with Holland and told her he felt he was going to get shot in the head. After the call ended, he sent her one final text message: "mom I love you, and I’m a G." On the morning of April 2, 2023, deputies with the Pima County Sheriff's Department found Brooks deceased on the Catalina Highway near Rose Canyon Lake. He had been shot to death and showed obvious signs of trauma.

The homicide investigation uncovered a plot that authorities had first learned about while monitoring phone calls at the El Paso County Detention Center, where individuals were discussing Brooks. Investigators discovered that Brooks was last known to be alive after taking an Uber to a Tucson residence associated with one of the suspects. The investigation led to the arrests of four men: Muhidin Omari Kassim, 21; Quinton Lucas Holt, 23; Dereck Devon Alphonso Ashe, 19; and Christopher Charles Ellis, 22.

The men were initially charged with crimes including conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. As the case proceeded through the courts, two of the defendants reached plea agreements. In August 2024, Quinton Lucas Holt pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was scheduled for sentencing in October. The following month, Christopher Ellis pleaded guilty to one count of kidnapping, with his sentencing set for late October 2024. As of September 2024, the cases against the remaining two men were moving forward. A trial for Muhidin Omari Kassim was scheduled for November 2024, and Dereck Devon Alphonso Ashe’s trial was set for January 2025.