Meghan Markle and Harry's Montecito estate trespasser admits 'he was high' while breaking into their home
Nickolas Brooks, an intruder who trespassed on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Montecito, California estate, over the Christmas holidays last year, admitted he may have been "high" when he was caught at the Sussexes home. Brooks was also previously convicted of being part of an attack that left a man with a broken bone in his face.
The 37-year-old was caught on Christmas Eve trespassing the Duke and Duchess's property in Montecito, where they reside with their son Archie. Brooks was located and escorted off the property during that instance and was only given a warning by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's officers that he should return. He trespassed the Sussexes property again two days later, on December 26, and was arrested. He currently faces one count of misdemeanor trespassing, according to reports.
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According to reports, Brooks had driven more than 2,300 miles from his home in Heath, Ohio, to the Sussexes estate in California during Christmas 2020. The Sun spoke to Brooks about his motivation to trespass their property and he told the outlet, "It was a foggy period of my life. I didn't even know where I was. I think I was high at the time."
He continued, "I don't know why I went to their place, that's kind of where I ended up. I drove across the country — I know it's crazy."
Brooks added, "I've been told to stay away and that I'm never allowed back there but I don't have to appear in court. I was in jail for a night and they told me to stay away in future."
According to the outlet, records show that Brooks served 90 days in jail in 2005 after he was found guilty of participating in an assault that saw the victim suffer a facial fracture. He had been found guilty by a jury in November 2004 of "complicity in a felonious assault" and was sentenced to 90 days in the county jail the following year. He was also ordered to undergo community control supervision.
In 2006, Brooks was found to have violated his community control by driving under the influence of alcohol and not completing a treatment program. Following this, he was sentenced to six months in a "community-based correction facility". Brooks was ordered by the court to undergo intensive supervision, alcohol and drug use monitoring, mental health treatment, house arrest with electronic monitoring, and a curfew.
Two years later, in March 2008, Brooks was ordered to complete a term in a halfway house due to non-compliance with his conditions of supervision. Three months later, in June 2008, he admitted that he had violated the terms of his community control and was sentenced to two years in prison, and served four months.
The Sussexes purchased their Montecito estate for $14.5 million in August 2020, and moved there after their brief stint in Vancouver, Canada, at the beginning of the pandemic. Prince Harry revealed in his interview with Oprah Winfrey that his inheritance from his mother, Princess Diana, had been supporting his family after being cut off financially by the royals.