PLAQUEMINE - Attorneys representing people involved in an Iberville Parish murder-for-hire trial pointed fingers at one another during opening statements Wednesday while trying to convince jurors who the real mastermind behind the plot to kill Herman Harris was. 

Harris, 65, was found dead in his Maringouin home in August 2024. Investigators arrested Rilonda Brooks, David Brooks, Johnnie Hicks and Javadda Lewis in the killing. 

District Attorney Tony Clayton, who is prosecuting the trial himself, said that Rilonda Brooks was the mastermind, David Brooks was the enforcer, Hicks was the hitman and Lewis was the facilitator. 

Clayton said Harris' killing was planned by his former employer, Rilonda Brooks. The DA said Harris filed a lawsuit against her after getting hurt on the job. 

"Why kill the man instead of working out a lawsuit? You die because you crossed Rilonda Brooks? Really?" he said to jurors. 

Rilonda Brooks' attorney, Harry Daniels, denied the allegations. He said she had insurance for accidents and wouldn't kill anyone over the claim.  

"You don't murder people for an accident, you call insurance, State Farm," he said. 

Brooks' lawyer said that her brother, David Brooks, was the person responsible for orchestrating Harris' killing.

"This is a simple case of trust and betrayal. We trust that our loved ones won't commit a crime and have us falsely accused of murder," he said. 

Attorney Kathryn Jakuback, representing David Brooks, addressed the jury and said that he was not a perfect person, but he was caught in an impossible situation and panicked.

The state alleges that on the night of the killing, Lewis and Hicks went to David Brooks' house, went to Harris' house and shot him, then returned to David Brooks' home. The DA says the video shows Lewis handing the murder weapon to David Brooks. 

"David Brooks did what anyone would do in that situation: he panicked."

Jakuback said that David Brooks threw the weapon away on his property, but that Lewis is the real murderer. 

The state's case relies heavily on Lewis' testimony, which he agreed to give in exchange for the district attorney's office taking life in prison off the table. 

"Javadda Lewis is a liar... Weigh his testimony with extreme caution," Jakuback said. "He sold the state on a story to save his own skin."

Johnnie Hicks' attorney, Victor Woods, also said that Lewis was not being entirely truthful. 

"The state has told you that Javadda Lewis is the key to putting this all together, but in actuality, he is the real perpetrator," he said. 

Woods said that his client was a friend of Lewis and was not connected to the Brooks siblings. He said that his client is being blamed because he was incarcerated shortly before Harris' killing. 

"It's easy to point the finger at the person who has tattoos all over his body, who has a record in jail - he's the easy scapegoat."