Brookhaven brothers LaJohntae Fields and Jacorius Smith have said that they are yet to enter a courtroom a year after they claim they were falsely accused of a crime. In 2023, the brothers were charged with firing into a car that contained children, resulting in two injuries.
Investigators withheld the location of the incident and the severity of the victim’s injuries at the time of their arrest. Their mother, Marion Tillman, told WLBT, “My children are the ones hurting. Why should I deal with my children suffering from a lie.”
The brothers insist on their innocence, saying they were at a friend’s house when the incident happened. Smith told the outlet, “They just arrested us for no reason if they ain’t have no evidence.”
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They claimed that Brookhaven police coerced witnesses into making testimonies against them.
Fields said, “That night, we just hear shooting and stuff, and next thing you know. A few days later, (Chief) Kenny Collins and all of them put me on the news, were busting in our houses, all of that.”
He added, “I got the messages and all, they texted me personally and was like, they didn’t say my name, they never told the police that we did it, and all that. They even said in a text message that police made them say my name.”
In the meantime, the family claimed that the district attorney’s office’s refusal to move forward with the case until it receives investigative files from the police indicates that the police do not have a connection to the crime.
Kenneth Collins, the chief of Brookhaven Police, confirmed that certain evidence is still being reviewed and that his agency has not yet given the DA’s office access to all of its files.
He stated, “We have at least eight cell phones, we have shell casings, we have several guns that are being processed in connection with that case. We haven’t submitted the cases because we are trying to tie everything in together.”
However, Chief Collins was unable to tell when everything would be ready and handed over to the DA’s office.
Smith and Fields, he said, are still under investigation and remain suspects in the interim.
Tillman lamented, “I want this off of my sons’ records and I want justice for my family because we have hurt long enough.”
