Brothers claim they were wrongfully arrested and charged; police chief says that is not the case

BROOKHAVEN, Mississippi (WLBT) – Two brothers from Brookhaven were arrested and charged last year for shooting at a car with children inside, injuring two people.

The shooting occurred in January 2023.

LaJohntae Fields and his brother Jacorius Smith were both charged with the crime, a crime they say they did not commit.

At the time of her arrest, investigators did not disclose where the incident occurred or the severity of the victim's injuries.

“My children are the ones who suffer,” said Marion Tillman, Fields and Smith's mother. “Why should I put up with my children suffering from a lie?”

Fields said neither he nor his brother had anything to do with the crime.

When the shooting occurred in January 2023, he said, they were at a friend's house.

“That night we just heard gunshots and stuff, and the next thing you know,” Fields said, “a few days later, (Chief) Kenny Collins and everyone else was putting me on the news, breaking into our houses and so on.”

The brothers said witnesses in the car told police they were the suspects.

Fields and Smith now accuse Brookhaven police of coercing witnesses to make these statements against them.

“I got the messages and everything, they texted me personally and said they didn't say my name, they never told the police we did it and so on,” Fields said. “They even said in a text message that the police forced them to say my name.”

“The young ladies actually reached out to me a month ago and begged me and my son to forgive them. It's eating away at their conscience,” Tillman said.

It has been more than a year since the two men were charged with this crime, and they said they have never set foot in a courtroom.

The district attorney's office said it was waiting for police investigation files before the case could be presented to a grand jury.

The family said this was simply proof that the police had no connection between them and the crime.

“They just arrested us for no reason, they had no evidence,” Smith said.

“I want this off my sons' records, and I want justice for my family because we have suffered long enough,” Tillman said.

WLBT reached out to Brookhaven Police Chief Kenneth Collins.

He admits that his department has not yet handed over all files to the prosecutor's office and that some evidence is still being processed.

“We have at least eight cell phones, shell casings and several firearms that are being investigated in connection with this case,” the police chief said. “We have not filed the cases yet because we are trying to tie everything together.”

Chief Collins could not give a timeline for when he plans to have everything ready to hand over to the prosecutor.

In the meantime, he said, charges will continue to be brought against Smith and Fields and he maintains that they remain suspects.

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