Siblings Rilonda and David Brooks, alongside hitman Johnnie Hicks, will spend the rest of their lives in prison after being sentenced today by Judge Alvin Batiste in 18th Judicial District Court. They were found guilty in the murder-for-hire trial that concluded August 14th.
Herman Harris, 65, was shot in the head in his home in Maringouin on August 27, 2024. Rilonda Brooks, 47, of 13180 Hwy. 76, Maringouin, and David Brooks, Jr., 42, of 996 Maringouin Rd. West, Maringouin, were both sentenced to life without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence to principal to second-degree murder, 15 years in prison for solicitation for murder, 20 years in prison for conspiracy to commit second-degree murder, 15 years in prison for obstruction of justice and tampering with evidence, 10 years in prison for conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary, and 10 years in prison for principal to aggravated burglary. The sentences are to run concurrently.
Johnnie Hicks, 27, of 150 Stillwater Dr., Vicksburg, MS., was sentenced to life in prison for principal to second-degree murder, 20 years in prison for conspiracy to commit second-degree murder, 15 years in prison for obstruction of justice and tampering with evidence, 10 years in prison for conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary, 10 years in prison for principal to aggravated burglary, and 15 years in prison for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
DA Clayton said Rilonda Brooks was the mastermind of the plan to kill Harris. She and her brother, David Brooks, hired Hicks as the hitman. Harris was a former employee of Rilonda Brooks trucking company. Brooks wanted to avoid a lawsuit Harris had planned to file against her and her trucking company because he had been injured by Rilonda Brooks while on the job. The siblings had each received approximately $4 million in December 2023 from a settlement with a trucking company found responsible for an accident that killed their mother, and DA Clayton told the jury that she did not want to lose her money due to Harris’ lawsuit.
A fourth individual tied to the case, Javadda Lewis, turned state’s evidence and testified against the other three. He was the facilitator in getting Hicks involved and being the lookout in the murder in exchange for a kilo of cocaine.
District Attorney Tony Clayton said, “This man was killed because of greed, and now those who committed this heartless crime will spend the rest of their days behind bars. It was a complex case, but I will say it again, if you commit violent crimes in this district we are coming at you with the toughest prosecutors and the toughest sentences possible.”
“I want to thank the Iberville Parish Sheriff’s Office, West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, State Police, the Crime Lab, numerous law enforcement agencies in Mississippi, and federal marshals for their hard work in solving this case and helping us serve justice,” DA Clayton said.