Tyrone N. Butts
APE Reporter
Basketball dispute turns deadly
It was a basketball game with the highest stakes. Roderick Dwayne Brooks and his cousin, Wyman Lewis III, played a pickup basketball game on Church Street with friends and relatives. The Thursday night game was Brooks' last.
Police say Brooks and Lewis were walking away from the scene when hit by a vehicle driven by their 16-year-old cousin, who was upset about a fight that took place during a basketball game.
Brooks, 21, of Alexandria was fatally injured, while Lewis, 26, of Lecompte was seriously injured. Alexandria police have charged the 16-year-old with first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder.
Brooks died later at a local hospital. Lewis remained hospital
ized Friday at LSU Hospital in Shreveport. He was listed in fair condit
ion.
"We can't believe this has happened," said Brooks' brother, Damion Brooks. "It doesn't seem possible."
On Thursday, Dwayne Brooks and Lewis ended up on Church Street, a dead end road near Interstate 49. It wasn't their initial plan.
A portable basketball goal was pulled out into the street, and a game of hoops began. Neither police nor any of the victims' relatives could say how many people played in the game.
During the game, Lewis and the 16-year-old argued. No one is saying what the argument was about, but witnesses did say Lewis knocked one of the teen's teeth out.
Brooks and Lewis decided it was time to leave. Nicole Lewis said her nephew had driven a vehicle to Church Street. The men chose to leave it. They walked toward Willow Glen River Road but didn't get past the Rapides Parish Fire District 2 sta
tion.
The 16-year-old got into Wyman Lewis' vehicle and ran down his cousins, police reports state. The teen kept driving until he got to
the end of Church Street where he abandoned the car, police reported.
Firefighters at the station didn't hear the impact, but a woman beat on their door to call for help. One firefighter described the scene as chaotic. He said firefighters scrambled to render first aid to the victims while a growing crowd of people began to line the streets.
Both victims and a witness were taken to local hospitals. The witness was hospitalized due to shock.
The 16-year-old, accompanied by his parents, turned himself in Friday morning at the Alexandria Police Department. He remains in Renaissance Home for Youth.
Somber faces greeted visitors Friday outside of 5225 Lacassine Drive. Damion Brooks' face showed the shock and confusion his family and friends felt.
Vehicles packed the small driveway as people walked in and out of the apartment.
"It has been like this since last night," Damion Brooks said.
He said his mother hadn't gotten any sleep.
Standing in the street, Damion Brooks and Kendrick Gilber
t almost simultaneously said Dwayne Brooks loved basketball. They smiled at one another.
"Well, he did," Gilbert, a family friend, said.
Dwayne Brooks also liked going to church and cutting hair. "He cut mine," Gilbert said, brushing his hand through his hair.
Dwayne Brooks never charged a dime for the trims.
"He would give a person the last thing he had to help them," Damion Brooks said. "If he didn't have it, he would find a way to get it for them. He was a real good person."
Across town on Church Street, Nicole Lewis shook her head as she walked closer to the sand and blue paint in the yard of the fire station.
It was the first time she had seen where her nephew and Dwayne Brooks were run down.
She pointed at the blue markings and turned away.
"I can't believe this happened, over a basketball game," she said.
Nicole Lewis tried to go to work Friday but couldn't after spending most of the night at the hospital. She was making
plans to head to Shreveport but first wanted to see where the incident happened.
Her nephew, a father of two, has several surgeries in his future to repair damage to his legs, face and shoulder.
But he has been most concerned about his cousin, Dwayne Brooks, Nicole Lewis said. No one had the heart to tell Wyman Lewis that Dwayne Brooks didn't make it.
Nicole Lewis admits that knowing family is involved with what happened Thursday is hard.
"I pray these kids realize there are consequences to their actions," she said. "This didn't have to happen."
****************
Liar! Niggers do dis alls da time!
T.N.B.
It was a basketball game with the highest stakes. Roderick Dwayne Brooks and his cousin, Wyman Lewis III, played a pickup basketball game on Church Street with friends and relatives. The Thursday night game was Brooks' last.
Police say Brooks and Lewis were walking away from the scene when hit by a vehicle driven by their 16-year-old cousin, who was upset about a fight that took place during a basketball game.
Brooks, 21, of Alexandria was fatally injured, while Lewis, 26, of Lecompte was seriously injured. Alexandria police have charged the 16-year-old with first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder.
Brooks died later at a local hospital. Lewis remained hospital
ized Friday at LSU Hospital in Shreveport. He was listed in fair condit
ion.
"We can't believe this has happened," said Brooks' brother, Damion Brooks. "It doesn't seem possible."
On Thursday, Dwayne Brooks and Lewis ended up on Church Street, a dead end road near Interstate 49. It wasn't their initial plan.
A portable basketball goal was pulled out into the street, and a game of hoops began. Neither police nor any of the victims' relatives could say how many people played in the game.
During the game, Lewis and the 16-year-old argued. No one is saying what the argument was about, but witnesses did say Lewis knocked one of the teen's teeth out.
Brooks and Lewis decided it was time to leave. Nicole Lewis said her nephew had driven a vehicle to Church Street. The men chose to leave it. They walked toward Willow Glen River Road but didn't get past the Rapides Parish Fire District 2 sta
tion.
The 16-year-old got into Wyman Lewis' vehicle and ran down his cousins, police reports state. The teen kept driving until he got to
the end of Church Street where he abandoned the car, police reported.
Firefighters at the station didn't hear the impact, but a woman beat on their door to call for help. One firefighter described the scene as chaotic. He said firefighters scrambled to render first aid to the victims while a growing crowd of people began to line the streets.
Both victims and a witness were taken to local hospitals. The witness was hospitalized due to shock.
The 16-year-old, accompanied by his parents, turned himself in Friday morning at the Alexandria Police Department. He remains in Renaissance Home for Youth.
Somber faces greeted visitors Friday outside of 5225 Lacassine Drive. Damion Brooks' face showed the shock and confusion his family and friends felt.
Vehicles packed the small driveway as people walked in and out of the apartment.
"It has been like this since last night," Damion Brooks said.
He said his mother hadn't gotten any sleep.
Standing in the street, Damion Brooks and Kendrick Gilber
t almost simultaneously said Dwayne Brooks loved basketball. They smiled at one another.
"Well, he did," Gilbert, a family friend, said.
Dwayne Brooks also liked going to church and cutting hair. "He cut mine," Gilbert said, brushing his hand through his hair.
Dwayne Brooks never charged a dime for the trims.
"He would give a person the last thing he had to help them," Damion Brooks said. "If he didn't have it, he would find a way to get it for them. He was a real good person."
Across town on Church Street, Nicole Lewis shook her head as she walked closer to the sand and blue paint in the yard of the fire station.
It was the first time she had seen where her nephew and Dwayne Brooks were run down.
She pointed at the blue markings and turned away.
"I can't believe this happened, over a basketball game," she said.
Nicole Lewis tried to go to work Friday but couldn't after spending most of the night at the hospital. She was making
plans to head to Shreveport but first wanted to see where the incident happened.
Her nephew, a father of two, has several surgeries in his future to repair damage to his legs, face and shoulder.
But he has been most concerned about his cousin, Dwayne Brooks, Nicole Lewis said. No one had the heart to tell Wyman Lewis that Dwayne Brooks didn't make it.
Nicole Lewis admits that knowing family is involved with what happened Thursday is hard.
"I pray these kids realize there are consequences to their actions," she said. "This didn't have to happen."
****************
Liar! Niggers do dis alls da time!
T.N.B.