Jurors hear conflicting testimony from husband and wife about Deven Brooks' slaying
A husband and wife charged in the January 2022 death of Ball resident Deven Slade Brooks presented conflicting stories to jurors about just what happened the night Brooks was robbed, kidnapped and shot to death.
Brooks' body was found at Alexandria's Levee Park near the Red River on Jan. 11, 2022. He had been shot once in his head and was bound with steel cables, Gorilla Tape and zip ties.
Prosecutors contend Brooks was killed for money he had inherited.
Wife Jamaria Xavier Randle, 23, is on trial this week on one count of second-degree murder. Her husband, 22-year-old Terrance Lavalais, pleaded guilty to that charge Feb. 1 and was sentenced to the mandatory life in prison without probation or parole.
But Lavalais' deal notes he could benefit from a Louisiana law that allows a prosecutor to seek less than the mandatory sentence if the defendant provides prosecutors "significant assistance." In Lavalais' case, he is being asked to testify against his wife and her cousin, Tremaine Veal.
All three were indicted on second-degree murder charges in April 2022. Veal's trial is set for August.
Both testified that Lavalais fired the shot that killed Brooks.
'None of it was OK'
But Randle, under questioning from defense attorney Chad Guillot, said she was trying to get money from Brooks so she could escape Lavalais, whom she described as abusive.
"None of it was OK," she said of their relationship, calling it "a façade, a complete joke."
She testified she only married Lavalais eight days before the birth of their daughter because he saw it as a way to show her he'd changed from being an abuser and cheater.
Randle met Brooks on her second night as a stripper at an Alexandria club on La. 1, she testified. They spent most of the night together, including hours in a private room where Brooks dropped about $1,000 on a credit card and another $200 in tips.
While Brooks didn't go back to the club, Randle did have his cellphone number. Soon the two were in a sexual relationship while Lavalais was in Shreveport getting his high school diploma and job training. She testified she felt love for Brooks.
'It was all wrong'
Randle said she wanted to go see Brooks on Jan. 9 to ask him for money so she could leave Lavalais. She said Lavalais did not know that, and he wanted "Deven to give him as much money as possible."
Both Lavalais and Randle testified that Brooks was bound while at his apartment, where Randle entered first followed later by Lavalais and Veal. Both also testified Veal held a gun to Brooks' face, but their testimony differed on Randle's involvement.
Guillot asked her why, when she and a bound Brooks were alone in his red Honda Accord driving to the park where he was killed, she didn't just drive away and get help.
"I don't know," she replied.
He asked her if she felt bad about what happened.
"I haven't slept in a year, 397 days," she said, also saying she can't sleep unless lights are on. But she also testified she still loves Lavalais.
"It was all wrong, but I did not sign up for anybody to be killed."
'I didn't think about that'
When Rapides Parish Assistant District Attorney Lea Hall started his cross-examination, he asked Randle to admit or deny several things. Among them was whether she took Brooks from one place to another against his will and whether Brooks was harmed.
She answered yes to all of Hall's questions, which tracked with the state law for second-degree murder.
As Hall asked her why she didn't warn Brooks or leave with him when she had the chance, Randle repeatedly referred to Lavalais' control over her and how her mind was on getting home to her mother.
He asked her why she didn't seek help from a Ball Police Department officer who stopped her while she was driving Brooks' car. She and Lavalais were on their way to the Kingsville Walmart to try to buy prepaid gift cards and a cellphone with Brooks' financial information when she was pulled over for not having the tail lights on.
"You've got an armed police officer standing right there," said Hall.
"I didn't think about that," she said.
'Just like a cash machine'
Randle left Lavalais for about two hours while they were at the Paragon Casion Resort on Jan. 11, 2022, shortly before Brooks' body was found. Hall asked her what she was doing, and why she didn't seek help then.
She said she didn't remember what she was doing, maybe gambling.
"But still subject to the mind control of Terrance," Hall told her. "Did you find that distracting while you were gambling?"
Hall asked her how much Brooks spent on the blue Hyundai Sonata he bought for her, and she said it was $8,000. He also confirmed Brooks gave her cash, paid some of her bills and bought dinners for her.
"He's just like a cash machine for you," he said.
"I guess," Randle replied.
'I didn't want her to do it'
Earlier Thursday, before the state rested its case, Lavalais testified that the plan to rob Brooks was Randle's idea, that she talked about it daily and recruited Veal because she knew he had a gun.
Sitting on the witness stand in his orange jumpsuit in handcuffs, Lavalais said Randle was in possession of that .40-caliber gun from the time they left Brooks' Timber Trails apartment in both Randle's and Brooks' cars until they arrived at Levee Park.
He said Randle pistol whipped Brooks at the park.
But Lavalais took the gun from her. "I didn't want her to do it," he told Hall.
He said he walked Brooks to the edge by the Red River, "and I shot him." Brooks' body, still bound, tumbled about 15 feet down an embankment.
Lavalais testified that his family called him while he was in Shreveport to tell him about the affair Randle was having with Brooks.
When Hall asked how he felt about that, Lavalais shook his head and said he felt Randle "stabbed me in the back."
At one point, the jury was removed from the courtroom because Guillot objected to some of Lavalais' testimony. He contended Lavalais shouldn't be allowed to testify about certain aspects of what led to the shooting because those discussions were between husband and wife.
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Randle sat at the defense table with her sweater held to her face, crying.
After ironing out the details, Lavalais continued his testimony. He told Hall he never had met Brooks, but Randle began talking daily about robbing him. He said she contacted Veal because he had a gun.
Hall asked him if he overheard their conversation, and he said he was right there. Hall asked what Randle told Veal.
"She's got a lick that we can hit," he said.
Lavalais identified the gun he used to kill Brooks from a photo already entered into evidence. The gun never was recovered.
'He was throwing him around'
Randle already was in the apartment with Brooks when Lavalais and Veal entered, he said. He said Veal was hitting Brooks "for no good reason.
"He was throwing him around."
Veal was demanding codes to Brooks' financial accounts, and he referred to the married couple by their names, he testified. Hall asked if the trio were discussing what to do with Brooks, and he said Randle said "we gotta get him gone" because of what Veal had done.
Guillot, in his longest cross-examination of a state witness so far, questioned Lavalais about his involvement, telling him he was pinning everything on Randle and Veal.
"You're in the apartment doing nothing?" he asked.
"Right," Lavalais replied.
Guillot asked why it was necessary to kill Brooks since he already knew Randle's name. Lavalais said they were afraid Brooks then would know Randle was involved with the scheme to rob him.
And Guillot asked Lavalais what he thought about Brooks promising the three he'd get them $8,000 in the morning since Randle and Veal didn't believe it was a good idea.
"I wanted to let him go," said Lavalais.
'I'm trying to tell my truth'
Guillot asked him if he expected jurors to believe that when he was the one who killed him.
Then Guillot asked about Lavalais' plea deal and his testimony. Lavalais said he thought it was the right thing to do. But Guillot pressed him, saying the only way he could get out of a life sentence was to testify against the others.
"Is that what you're doing here?" he asked.
"I'm trying to tell my truth," said Lavalais.
Guillot said Lavalais had shown no remorse and asked him if he could show remorse to Brooks' mother, Candace Blood, who sat in the gallery crying.
Lavalais said he felt remorse for putting himself in the situation, for doing what he did and for allowing someone to trick him.
"I'm sorry," he said.
Testimony will continue Friday morning with Guillot redirecting Randle. After that, the case should go to the jury.
This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Husband, wife tell jurors conflicting stories of how Deven Brooks died
