Judge orders transfer of new battery case for Anthony Lamar Brooks; probation revocation hearing set

Clayton County State Court Judge Tammy Long Hayward directed that a pending battery case against Anthony Lamar Brooks be transferred to superior court for felony consideration and set a separate probation-revocation hearing for the defendant in about three weeks.

Judge Hayward said the transfer request was based on a prior battery-family-violence conviction that could elevate the current charges for purposes of superior-court review. The court also set a hearing on a probation petition the state had filed; the court ordered the state to subpoena witnesses for that hearing and notified parties that notice of the date would be sent by the clerk.

Prosecutors told the court that Brooks has a prior family-violence battery conviction from January 23, 2025, which closed on March 18, 2025. Defense counsel said they would request a hearing and preserved the right to challenge the transfer, but the judge declined to re-open a probable-cause determination that had been waived earlier at the magistrate level for the purpose of avoiding transfer.

Judge Hayward cautioned Brooks that recorded jail calls are monitored and reminded him that any contact with the alleged victim could lead to additional charges and could affect the pending petition. The court and parties agreed to set the petition hearing three weeks out so the state could secure witnesses and prepare for a full evidentiary hearing.

The court instructed the clerk to issue formal notice of the hearing to all parties and to provide subpoenas for state witnesses as needed. No final disposition on the underlying felony-level allegations was made at the arraignment; the transfer and the scheduling of the revocation hearing were the principal orders issued by the court.