PLAQUEMINE — Three people were arrested and accused in a murder-for-hire scheme that ended with the death last month of a 65-year-old man in his Maringouin home, Iberville Parish Sheriff Brett Stassi said Thursday.

Officials said Herman Harris was found dead in his home along La. 76 on Aug. 27 in what District Attorney Tony Clayton called "one of the most horrific killings that took place in our parish."

Two siblings from Maringouin, Rilonda Brooks, 44, and David Brooks Jr., 40, were arrested for second-degree murder, criminal conspiracy, solicitation for murder and obstruction of justice, Stassi said.

Johnnie Hicks, 25, from Vicksburg, Mississippi, was arrested on the same charges, as well as aggravated burglary and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Hicks was recently released from prison and has a long criminal history, Stassi said.

Deputies are still searching for Javaada Lewis, 32, from Edwards, Mississippi, who is accused of aggravated burglary, second-degree murder and criminal conspiracy, among other charges. 

Clayton said Harris was killed either late on Aug. 26 or early on Aug. 27. When people arrived to pick Harris up for a senior citizens' meal program, no one answered the door and authorities were asked to do a welfare check. They found Harris dead.

"The only thing left at the crime scene was a pillow case and his body," Clayton said.

Deputies eventually used footage from nearby cameras to track a car from Maringouin to Edwards, Mississippi, where undercover agents were dispatched to work with Mississippi authorities, Clayton said. They eventually stopped the car and found a person with thousands of dollars.

Stassi said that the killing was a possible murder for hire. Clayton said Hicks pulled the trigger on the gun that killed Harris. Hicks was linked to the crime after the Louisiana State Police Crime Laboratory came back with a positive DNA match for Hicks from a sample collected from the pillowcase, Clayton said.

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

Stassi said that Rilonda Brooks pulled Harris out of a large truck that caused him to be hurt and Harris said he was planning on suing. Stassi added that Brooks got a letter saying there was a potential lawsuit filed that and Harris was in the process of getting a lawyer.

"That's when, as evidence shows, that this Hicks came into play," Clayton said.

He said that he has asked a judge to deny bail for all of the defendants, fearing they might kill again.