Former Turnstile guitarist Brady Ebert could potentially be facing a life sentence after the Montgomery County grand jury upgraded the charges against him to include attempted first-degree murder.
According to The Baltimore Banner, the 33-year-old Ebert was indicted Thursday (April 30), with the attempted first-degree murder charge being the most serious addition to his case. He had previously been facing a second-degree murder charge, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years. The new first-degree charge, however, carries a potential life sentence in relation to the March 29 incident in which Ebert allegedly struck the father of singer Brendan Yates with a vehicle.
Why Is Brady Ebert Being Charged?
According to the Montgomery County Police Department report, a suspect intentionally struck a victim with a vehicle following a dispute with neighbors. The victim, 79-year-old William Yates, sustained severe trauma to both of his legs. The report claims that detectives were told by family members that Ebert arrived at the elder Yates’ home, yelled obscenities, and honked his car horn before returning to strike William in the driveway.
The band later issued a statement to Rolling Stone regarding the situation:
Turnstile cut ties with Brady Ebert in 2022 in response to a consistent pattern of harmful behavior affecting himself, the band, and the community. After exhausting every available resource to support his access to help and recovery, a boundary ultimately had to be set when healthy communication was no longer possible and he began threatening violence.
In the years since, his baseless tirades have continued in public. We never addressed it. We chose to protect his privacy and the circumstances around his departure, even when he did nothing to be deserving of that protection. Over the past few months, his threats only escalated further.
This past week, that violence led to a physical attack when Brady went to the house of Brendan’s parents and used his vehicle to run over Brendan’s father, causing severe physical trauma. We are grateful that Mr. Yates survived, has successfully undergone surgery, and we’re hoping for the best possible outcome in his recovery.
We have no language left for Brady.
Please respect our privacy in this time.
Legal Charges and History
In addition to the first-degree murder charge, Ebert is also charged with attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault, and two counts of second-degree assault. He is currently being held at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility without bail. Under Maryland law, a person who attempts to commit murder in the first degree is guilty of a felony and is subject to imprisonment not exceeding life.
Ebert was a co-founding lead guitarist and backing vocalist for Turnstile, remaining with the group from 2010 through 2022. He appeared on three albums, including the critically acclaimed 2018 set Time & Space and the Grammy-nominated 2021 album, Glow On. In August 2022, the band officially parted ways with the guitarist.
Regarding the current case, Ebert has claimed that surveillance video from the incident will exonerate him, stating, “This is pure self-defense. They’re the attackers.” However, police reports suggest that Ebert honked his horn as he approached the elder Yates, who backed away, and that the musician later backed up his vehicle and struck the victim after a rock was allegedly thrown at his car. Ebert is scheduled to appear in court on May 8 for a scheduling conference.
