Brooks is charged with assaulting a pregnant person.

A felony caption and a bond release are not guilt findings. A booking is how a file starts. University of Houston defensive lineman Carmello Dedric Brooks, 19, a sophomore from Katy, was arrested Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026, by the University of Houston Police Department and charged with assault on a pregnant individual, a felony. One felony caption is a charging theory. It is not a verdict.

Court records, as reported, say prosecutors allege he picked her up and slammed her to the ground while knowing she was pregnant. A Sept. 18 probable-cause hearing described squeezing arms, slamming, and sitting or pinning; officers noted visible injuries. Those are the State’s probable-cause claims and officer observations. They are not trial findings. He posted a $15,000 bond and was released. The next hearing was reported for Monday, Sept. 21, 2026. Bond and a Monday setting are release and calendar. They are not a finding of innocence, and they are not a finding of guilt.

Reporting also describes a separate August incident with a different pregnant woman: a misdemeanor criminal-mischief warrant on a door-handle damage allegation, and he was taken into custody on that warrant when arrested on the assault case. A second warrant is a second file. It is not proof of the felony assault count. UH Athletics said it was aware and gathering information; he was not on the travel squad. A roster scratch is employment. It is not a court finding. A woman claiming to be the alleged victim in the Sept. 17 case told KPRC she disputes that he hit her or was aggressive. That is her statement to the press. It is not a court finding either. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.