Suspect arrested after kidnapping Garth Brook's ex-wife

Tuesday, April 4th 2006, 3:24 pm

By: News On 6

CLAREMORE, Okla. (AP) -- The ex-wife of country music star Garth Brooks was kidnapped at gunpoint from her Rogers County home and forced into a car before she managed to escape and run into a convenience store, a sheriff's official said Tuesday.

Sandy Brooks allowed a bail bondsman onto her property Monday to apprehend a man who worked on her farm when the man pointed a gun at her, forced her into a car and ordered her to drive away, said Rogers County Undersheriff Barry Lamb.

After driving for several miles, Brooks stopped the car and ran into a convenience store in Tulsa County, Lamb said.

Quintine Cornelius Harper was arrested by police and charged Tuesday in Rogers County with kidnapping for extortion, Lamb said. Lamb said Harper was 24, but a booking sheet at the Tulsa County Jail listed Harper's age as 28.

Harper was being held in the Tulsa jail on Tuesday on additional complaints of pointing a firearm, possession of a firearm by a felon and outstanding warrants, said Cpl. Gary Kaiser with the Tulsa County Sheriff's Department.

Sandy Brooks and Garth Brooks, 44, who were married for 15 years, have three children, but none were present at the time of the kidnapping, Lamb said.

Garth Brooks married Trisha Yearwood in a private ceremony in December at their Rogers County home. Sandy Brooks lives nearby, Lamb said.

Garth Brooks is credited with widening country music's appeal in the 1990s by merging traditional country with honky tonk, pop, folk and rock. His "Ropin' the Wind" album was the first such country recording to debut at the top of the pop music charts. His latest album, "Scarecrow," went triple platinum.