Ex-Turnstile guitarist faces potential life sentence after indictment

Brady Ebert, a founding guitarist of the Baltimore hardcore band Turnstile, is facing a new charge that could lead to life in prison after detectives allege he intentionally hit the lead singer’s father with a car and left him with severe injuries.

A Montgomery County grand jury on Thursday indicted Ebert on an upgraded charge of attempted first-degree murder. He previously had been facing charges including attempted second-degree murder, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

His attorney, Andy Alpert, could not immediately be reached on Friday for comment.

Ebert, 33, of Silver Spring, has proclaimed his innocence, telling a district court commissioner that surveillance video would exonerate him.

“This is pure self-defense,” Ebert said. “They’re the attackers.”

He’s set to appear in court on May 8 for a scheduling conference.

In addition to attempted first-degree murder, Ebert is charged with attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault and two counts of second-degree assault. He’s being held in the Montgomery County Correctional Facility without bail.

According to Montgomery County Police, a neighbor’s surveillance camera captured the attack:

On March 29, Ebert drove down Timberlake Drive in Silver Spring while honking the horn of his 2001 Buick LeSabre. He then swerved toward William Yates, 79 — the father of Turnstile frontman Brendan Yates — who backed up to avoid getting hit, according to police.

William Yates then threw a rock at Ebert’s car, which he told detectives was an attempt to warn his daughter, Erin Gerber, and her 3-year-old son.

Police say Gerber dragged her son into the front yard to evade the car. She pleaded with Ebert to stop.

Next, Ebert backed up, put his car in drive, quickly accelerated and made a sharp left into the driveway, striking William Yates, police allege. They reported that he suffered “trauma to his lower extremities.”

Assistant State’s Attorney Dominic Plantamura said William Yates was hurt so badly that a bone stuck out of his leg.

Ebert played on Turnstile’s first three albums, including “Glow On,” which received widespread critical acclaim after its 2021 release and catapulted the band to mainstream success. Earlier this year, the group won two Grammy Awards.

At MedStar Washington Hospital Center, William Yates told investigators that Ebert had been harassing his family since Turnstile cut ties with him.

Turnstile’s other band members have said they split with Ebert in 2022 because of “a consistent pattern of harmful behavior affecting himself, the band, and the community.” Band members announced the decision one day after a Baltimore judge denied their requests for final peace orders against him.

William Yates introduced the band in a video message before the group’s recent set at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival: “To all the fans out there, we love you and Turnstile loves you, and enjoy the ride.”