‘You don't have to call me ‘bro': How Crosetti Brand is representing himself at trial for child's slaying

Chicago Tribune

23-05-2025

Representing himself while he stands trial on murder charges, Crosetti Brand was in the middle of heatedly arguing that he was receiving an unfair trial when the judge stopped him.
'One second,' Cook County Judge Angela Petrone said. 'You don't have to call me 'bro.''
Brand, 39, is charged with murder, attempted murder, home invasion and aggravated domestic battery in a March 13, 2024 attack that killed 11-year-old Jayden Perkins and seriously injured his pregnant mother.
During the first two weeks of an expected three-week trial, prosecutors called more than two dozen witnesses, all together painting a searing picture of the killing at the family's apartment in the 5900 block of North Ravenswood Avenue. After a series of harassment and threats made to Jayden's mother, Brand barged into the home and stabbed her over and over. When Jayden tried to intervene, Brand stabbed him as well, according to prosecutors and state witnesses.
All the while, Jayden's younger 5-year-old brother watched the attack unfold.
Brand, though, made the unusual decision to forgo a licensed attorney and launch his own defense – a choice that, at times, has brought an air of peculiarity to the otherwise tense and emotional proceedings.
His choice to represent himself has impacted the trial in a number of ways. Because Brand demanded a speedy trial, the proceedings got started much more quickly than is typical for murder trials, leaving prosecutors to rush to expedite evidence production and prepare witnesses just a little over a year after the attack.
It also meant that Brand has been able to question his alleged victims, grilling Jayden's mother, Laterria Smith after she told the jury what happened that day.
Pausing for the long weekend, the trial will resume Tuesday.
On Wednesday at the Leighton Criminal Court Building, Brand apologized to the judge for calling her 'bro' but continued to argue, as he has repeatedly throughout the lead-up to the trial, that he is being treated unfairly.
'That's sandbagging, judge,' Brand said, when prosecutors provided him with a certified copy of records that were previously tendered.
'Regarding the word cheating, I find there is no cheating,' Petrone responded, outside the presence of the jury. 'Regarding the word, sandbagging, I find there is no sandbagging.'
Brand, who argued during a brief opening statement that he was defending himself when Jayden was killed, comes into the courtroom each day with a short-sleeve, button-down shirt and large stacks of paperwork. He takes notes as witnesses testify.
His cross examinations are mercurial: At times, he has begun a line of questioning, then seems to change his mind, telling the judge he has nothing further. Other times, he has displayed odd quirks while examining witnesses. More than once, he has inserted random Spanish words into his cross.
'You can just say 'police,'' Petrone said, when Brand appeared to be stumbling over the Spanish word of 'policía.'
Brand has won on some issues, though. He often objects by arguing that prosecutors are leading the witness, meaning they are asking a question in a way that presumes a specific answer. Petrone has sometimes agreed, telling prosecutors to rephrase their question.
In other instances, though, she has told Brand the question was proper.
During the trial's first week, his ability to question the people who suffered due the attack has appeared to cause distress to witnesses and family members watching proceedings from the gallery.
When she took the stand on May 12, Smith did not make eye contact with Brand, answering his questions as she turned her head slightly away.
Among a litany of questions about their relationship, he asked her whether she told police they had been involved in a relationship.
'I did mention it,' she said.
Brand also peppered Smith's former fiance, Kassidy Miles, about his romantic relationship with her. Miles, who lived with Smith, Jayden and his 5-year-old son, had testified that he received a call at work from the boy to tell him Jayden had been killed. While questioning Smith and Miles, Brand was rebuked by the judge for trying to ask questions about Smith's romantic history with other men, which Petrone said violated the state's rape shield law.
After Brand finished questioning him, Miles walked off the witness stand, left the courtroom and bent over in tears.
Smith, Miles and other witnesses described the brutal attack, often struggling to make it through the difficult testimony.
Smith testified that she dated Brand in high school, but had recently rekindled their relationship in the months leading up to the stabbing. She said she tried to break it off as Brand grew more controlling.
He bombarded her with calls and texts, so she reported the harassment to authorities, Smith said. Brand was sent back to prison for violating the terms of his release after serving a sentence for an attack on another woman.
But one day before the attack, Smith was notified by an automated message, she said, that Brand had been released. The controversial decision by the Illinois Prisoner Review Board led to the resignation of two members and spurred Gov. JB Pritzker to create a new position on the board. Lawmakers this week also advanced a bill that would emphasize domestic violence awareness training for members of the state's Prisoner Review Board.
Brand has a criminal record against Smith and other women that includes attacks, threats and violations.
As the trial moved into its second week on Monday, the proceedings grew more technical, with detectives, evidence technicians and crime lab personnel attesting to evidence production and preservation.
One detective testified that he arrested Brand after the attack, finding him at an apartment and taking him into custody after Brand crawled out of the unit on his stomach.
'Did the door to unit 211 eventually open?' the prosecutor asked the detective.
He responded that it took about a minute.
'Objection, speculation,' Brand said.
'That's overruled because the detective was there and witnessed it,' Petrone responded.
Petrone has been attentive to Brand, often trying to ensure he has enough time to look through his notes and prepare himself for questioning. The court has allowed him to receive daily transcripts of proceedings and prosecutors have at times helped set up videos that he wanted to show to witnesses – things that a defense attorney would generally handle.
She pointed that out during a particularly frustrated exchange with Brand as he continued to argue after she already made a ruling.
'Is it about the same issue you put on record twice already?,' Petrone asked, adding that the court has made 'sure you have everything you need to have a fair trial.'
'The court believes you are getting a fair trial,' she said.