BRENTWOOD — A prominent Boston attorney could be removed from the death penalty case of John "Jay" Brooks.
The state attorney general's office asked Judge Robert Lynn earlier this month to decide whether defense lawyer Thomas Hoopes should be taken off the case because he could be called as a witness.
Hoopes is the lead defense attorney for Brooks, who is accused of planning the kidnapping and killing of Derry resident Jack Reid, 57, in June 2005. Brooks also is charged with landing the fatal blow to Reid's chest with a hammer.
Court documents unsealed on April 23 reveal a monthslong, behind-the-scenes battle between prosecutors and defense lawyers involved in the murder-for-hire case.
In January 2007, Hoopes retained his own lawyer to fend off prosecutors' requests to interview him or have him called before a grand jury.
Prosecutors plan to tell a jury in August that Brooks, a multimillionaire entrepreneur, tried to control three other men charged in the slaying by providing and paying for their lawyers. To build their case, prosecutors may try to force Hoopes and Las Vegas lawyer Richard Wright to testify.
Hoopes is accused of having a potential conflict of interest in Brooks' case. Prosecutors allege Hoopes advised one of Brooks' codefendants not to speak to police. They also claim the defense attorney arranged meetings between codefendants and other lawyers. Prosecutors suggest Hoopes may have violated professional conduct rules because codefendants have competing interests at trial.
Hoopes flew to Las Vegas shortly after Reid's death in 2005. There, he met with Brooks and codefendant Robin Knight at Mandalay Bay Casino.
During that meeting, Knight said he gave Hoopes a detailed account of Reid's slaying. In turn, Knight claims, Hoopes advised him not to talk to police.
Knight also said Brooks told everyone involved in the killing they could claim self-defense because they had been attacked by Reid. Brooks allegedly told three others involved in the killing that he and Hoopes came up with a "cover story" based on self-defense. The plan was to claim Reid had attacked Joseph Vrooman, 51, and Michael Benton, 31, who had to protect themselves, prosecutors said.
"They were to say that the victim had hit Vrooman and that Benton had then picked up the hammer to defend Vrooman and hit the victim with it," Senior Assistant Attorney General Janice Rundles said.
Reid was called to a horse farm in Deerfield on June 27, 2005, allegedly believing his was being hired to haul trash off the property. Once there, Reid was lured into a barn and bludgeoned to death with a hammer.
On April 23, Hoopes declined to comment on the allegations. But he denied any wrongdoing in an affidavit filed with the court.
"I have both prosecuted and defended many cases in my career and I have not, and will not, tolerate manufacturing a 'story' or a defense — by law enforcement officers, my clients or a witness," Hoopes wrote.
Hoopes also denied giving Knight any legal advice.
Knight, who was employed by Brooks in Las Vegas, is one of three codefendants who could be called to testify at Brooks' trial. Knight is charged with conspiracy to commit capital murder and accomplice to first-degree murder.
Benton, of Manchester, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for testifying against codefendants. Vrooman is set to plead guilty on May 9, and is believed to be a potential witness as well.
Brooks' son, Jesse, 31, is charged with conspiracy to commit capital murder.
Lynn ordered prosecutors to decide by May 15 whether they will call Knight as a witness.
Christopher Carter, another of Brooks' lawyers, said if prosecutors do call Knight, they will have some problems. Knight has given varying accounts of the slaying and his meeting with Hoopes, Carter said.
Prosecutors suggested in their most recent filings they are satisfied with some of the answers Hoopes provided in his affidavit, but it raised many more. A hearing may be held to determine whether Hoopes can stay on the case.
