Ex-Turnstile guitarist Brady Ebert is pleading “pure self-defense” in his altercation with former bandmate Brendan Yates’ father. On March 29, Ebert was arrested for allegedly trying to run over William Yates. The 79-year-old was rushed to the hospital with a broken leg and required surgery.
Ebert was ultimately charged with attempted second-degree murder and first-degree assault. The musician was denied bail and has remained in custody. According to The Baltimore Banner, Ebert is maintaining his innocence, alleging that he was defending himself. “I’m sorry, but this is pure self-defense,” Ebert stated in court. “I was straight-up attacked.”
Brady Ebert exited Turnstile in 2022
Previously, Assistant State’s Attorney Dominic Plantamura called Ebert’s actions “a clearly targeted attack.” The prosecutor argued that, because of this, he should remain in police custody. A judge agreed, denied bail, and ordered Ebert to return to court in May.
Notably, The Baltimore Banner also reported that surveillance footage of the incident exists. Allegedly, the footage shows Ebert in his vehicle at William Yates’ home. A description of the purported footage states that Ebert honked his car horn and yelled at William Yates and other Yates family members.
According to a police report, William approached Ebert’s vehicle and threw a rock at it. This is when Ebert is alleged to have put the car in reverse and then driven forward toward William, striking the elderly man. The report goes on to claim that, afterward, Ebert told William he “deserved it” before leaving the scene. He was arrested some time later.
Ebert remains in police custody until his next court hearing in May
The Yates family reportedly told police officers that the incident was a culmination of dangerously escalating behavior on Ebert’s part. They alleged that he’d previously shown up at William’s residence shouting obscenities at family members.
In an earlier testimony, Brendan Yates offered some comments on Ebert’s behavior. “Over the last couple of years, his behavior has kind of elevated to a point, including heavy drug use and a lot of factors that have made him pretty unreliable,” he said, as cited by The Baltimore Banner. “And with recent threats, we feel it’s for our safety to file this peace order to neutralize potential threats to our physical safety.”
Drummer Daniel Fang added at the time, “Our evaluation is that he’s become resentful. He’s been spiraling with his acute drug use. In a group chat that was addressed to all of us, he threatened our safety.”
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