Jury finds Jamaria Randle guilty in January 2020 murder of Deven Slade Brooks
A Rapides Parish jury found Jamaria Xavier Randle, 23, guilty of second-degree murder in the January 2022 death of Ball resident Deven Slade Brooks, 27.
She will be sentenced March 20 by 9th Judicial District Court Judge Patricia Koch, although the mandatory sentence is life in prison without the possibility of probation, parole or suspension of sentence.
Rapides Parish Assistant District Attorney Lea Hall told jurors Randle was the force behind a plot to rob Brooks because he had inherited money. She and two others, husband Terrance Lavalais and cousin Tremaine Veal, were arrested and indicted on second-degree murder charges.
Prosecutor:Motive in Deven Brooks' fatal shooting was greed, not jealousy
Dueling stories:Jurors hear conflicting testimony from husband and wife about Deven Brooks' slaying
Lavalais pleaded guilty on Feb. 1, receiving the life sentence. But he could get less than that if prosecutors decide his has provided "substantial assistance" at both Randle's and Veal's trials.
Veal will go to trial in August.
Randle testified in her own defense Thursday and told jurors she followed her husband's instructions because he was abusive. Lavalais, in his testimony, said the idea to rob Brooks was his wife's idea.
He said she pistol whipped him before his death, but he shot Brooks in his head because he didn't want Randle to do it.
This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Jamaria Randle found guilty in murder of Ball resident Deven Brooks
