A Peoria man charged in federal court with the burglary of a downtown gun store earlier this month has pleaded not guilty.
Corey Brooks, 29, made the plea Thursday during an arraignment appearance in federal court. He faces charges of burglary of a federally licensed firearms dealer, possession of a weapon by a felon, and possession of stolen firearms.
Prosecutors say he broke into Pinnacle Guns and Ammo, 701 Main, on July 7 and stole 22 firearms, including two shotguns. Police say they traced a blood trail north, past the Landmark Apartments and into the woods. The trail eventually ended around St. James and Sheridan.
Police say Brooks was spotted on surveillance footage captured in the 500 block of High Street around the time, wearing a backpack. Another search of the area behind the Landmark Apartments uncovered blood-stained clothing and the shotguns.
Brooks was arrested after he was found lying in the backseat of a vehicle later that day. Police say Brooks was lying on top of a loaded Glock stolen from Pinnacle earlier in the day. He was arrested without incident.
The driver of the vehicle told police she had picked Brooks up earlier that morning on Sheridan. Brooks allegedly told the driver he had just burglarized a gun store, and was bleeding from cuts on his arms and hands that morning.
After his arrest, Brooks was interviewed at the Peoria Police Department by a Peoria officer and a federal agent from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. The federal agent swore in an affidavit that Brooks admitted to the burglary, but refused to provide information about where the rest of the stolen guns were. He reportedly told agents he "did not care" if the stolen guns were used to shoot and kill people in Peoria.
Brooks is due back in court for a pretrial hearing on September 8.
