School Trustee’s Son Charged in Drug Case

The 19-year-old son of an Orange County school board member who espouses conservative family value positions was arraigned Tuesday on charges he manufactured methamphetamine with five other men in the garage of the board member’s home.

Jason Stuart Brooks, son of Cathy Ann Brooks, a trustee of the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District, was released on his own recognizance after pleading not guilty to charges of manufacturing a controlled substance and possessing a controlled substance.

Brooks was one of six men arrested Saturday night when a Placentia police officer responded to a complaint from a neighbor, authorities said.

“[The officer] noticed the garage light on and voices coming from inside,” said Placentia police investigator Corinne Loomis. “He peeked through a small hole in the garage door and saw six males inside, passing a container with liquid that was bubbling, and inhaling fumes from the container.” A second, clear container contained a white substance, Loomis said.

Cathy Ann Brooks, who has been on the Placentia-Yorba Linda school board since 1994, could not be reached for comment Tuesday. The 45-year-old trustee is a member of the Education Alliance, a Tustin-based conservative group that supports selected candidates for school trustee.

The alliance grew out of the failed 1993 bid to pass a school voucher initiative.

Known as one of the more conservative and outspoken members of the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified school board, Brooks opposed a failed 1995 initiative to increase the sales tax to help pull the county out of bankruptcy. She supports back-to-basics teaching programs and family values.

“Family values [are] important to her,” said Karin Freeman, the school board clerk. “That’s something she has strong concerns about.”

In a brief interview, a member of the Brooks family denied that there were any drugs at the house at the time of the arrest.

But Loomis said Jason Brooks, who lives at his parents’ home, was among the six men allegedly inhaling from the container. A neighbor called police after hearing an explosive noise coming from the Brooks home.

Also arrested were: Brian Leite, 25, of Fullerton; John Fayette, 19, of Placentia; John Musgrave, 25, of Mira Loma; Todd Schmuck, 18, of Placentia, and Erik Fayette, 23, of Placentia. All six pleaded not guilty Tuesday to identical charges and were released pending a Sept. 11 court date.

Loomis said the operation appeared to be “kind of an amateur lab,” where eight to 10 ounces of methamphetamine solution and some paraphernalia were found. Also confiscated were a cocaine pipe and several small bottles of pseudoephedrine, a primary ingredient used in the manufacture of methamphetamine, Loomis said.

Jason Brooks, the oldest son of seven children in the Brooks family, has no criminal record. He graduated from El Camino High School and is planning to become an electrician like his father, a family member said.

Several of the other suspects have been convicted of previous drug charges, according to court records. Another of the Brooks children made news in 1990, when Lisa Brooks, then in the fourth grade, was scolded by a cafeteria worker for making the sign of the cross and bowing her head in prayer during lunch at Brookhaven Elementary School.

Times staff writers Martin Miller and Anna Cekola contributed to this report.