Brooks exits trial; lawyer says he needs his meds

David Brooks Tuesday abruptly left the courtroom in the middle of a trial, where he is accused of looting his former body-armor company, to get to a bathroom in the cellblock area where he is being held during recesses.

Federal marshals sitting behind Brooks quickly followed him, according to several people in the courtroom. There was no suggestion that Brooks was trying to escape from the federal court in Central Islip.

A federal marshal told U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert that Brooks had was "having some stomach issues," according to a transcript of his conversation at a sidebar.

But Brooks' lead attorney, Kenneth Ravenell, said that his client's symptoms were part of his client's feelings of anxiety and panic because he was not getting the proper medication.

Concerned that jurors might be effected by the unusual scene, Seybert asked Ravenell if she should give some sort of instruction to the jury about the situation. But Ravenell declined.

Brooks and his attorneys have complained that he is not receiving at the Queens detention center the tranquilizer Ativan, which he normally takes to control the panic attacks to which he has been prone.

A psychiatrist at the center has said the drug is inappropriate for Brooks and she has prescribed other medication that Brooks had declined to take, according to court testimony.

"Mr. Brooks cannot continue in [his] current state," Ravenell said, suggesting that his client might not be able to adequately participate in his defense.

Later, Seybert said she had spoken with the administrator of the detention center and he had agreed to have Brooks be given a tranquilizer similar to Ativan, named Klonopin, if the drug were prescribed by Brooks' personal psychiatrist and he took responsibility for it.

Brooks personal psychiatrist, Michael Liebowitz, agreed to the conditions.

After the trial resumed, Brooks told Seybert he was feeling "excellent."

Brooks is accused of defrauding DHB Industries Inc. of nearly $190 million. The trial is expected to continue Wednesday.