Three people arrested in Maringouin murder case; murder of 65-year-old man allegedly arranged by employer

PLAQUEMINE – Three people have been arrested and charged in a murder-for-hire plot that ended with the killing of a 65-year-old man in his Maringouin home, Iberville Parish Sheriff Brett Stassi said Thursday.

Officials said Herman Harris was found shot to death in his home on LA 76 on August 27. District Attorney Tony Clayton called the incident “one of the most gruesome murders to have occurred in (Iberville) Parish.”

Clayton said Harris was killed either late on Aug. 26 or early on Aug. 27. When people came to pick Harris up for a senior citizen meal program, no one answered the door. Authorities were asked to conduct a health check and found Harris dead.

“The only thing left at the scene was a pillowcase and his body,” Clayton said.

Using footage from nearby cameras, officers eventually tracked a car from Maringouin to Edwards, Mississippi, where undercover officers were sent to work with Mississippi authorities. They eventually stopped the car and found a person with thousands of dollars.

Two siblings from Maringouin — 44 years old Rilonda Brooks and 40-year-old David Brooks Jr. — were arrested on charges of second-degree murder, criminal conspiracy, solicitation to commit murder and obstruction of justice. Johnnie Hicks, 25, of Vicksburg, Mississippi, was arrested on the same charges as well as aggravated burglary and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon. Sheriff Stassi said Hicks was recently released from prison and has a long criminal history.

Officials are still searching for Javaada Lewis, 32, of Edwards, Mississippi, who is charged with aggravated burglary, first-degree murder and criminal conspiracy, among other charges.

Stassi said Harris' killing may have been a murder-for-hire plot by his employer, the Brooks siblings. Clayton said Johnnie Hicks pulled the trigger of the gun that killed Harris. Hicks' DNA was found on a pillowcase taken from the crime scene, Clayton said.

Clayton added that the Brooks siblings, who employed Harris at a trucking company, feared Harris would sue them after he sought help for an injury he sustained on the job.

Stassi said Rilonda Brooks pulled Harris out of a large truck, causing him to be injured, and Harris said he plans to sue. Stassi added that the company received a letter saying a possible lawsuit had been filed and Harris was in the process of getting an attorney.

“And that's where the evidence shows this Hicks came in,” Clayton said.

He said he had asked a judge to deny bail to all the defendants because he feared they might kill again.