FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Sept. 21, 2016
COVINGTON—Rhamad R. Jackson, 27, of Slidell, pleaded guilty Monday (Sept. 19) to two counts of manslaughter and one count of burglary of an inhabited dwelling for shooting two men and burglarizing the home of one of them nearly six years ago.
District Judge Reginald Badeaux sentenced Jackson to 20 years in prison without the benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence on each of the manslaughter charges and 10 years on the burglary charge. The sentences are to be served concurrently.
The shootings took place Dec. 9, 2010, when the victims, Adrian Thicklin and Olajuwon Johnson, were driving in Jackson’s neighborhood. About a month earlier, Thicklin’s home had been burglarized of video gaming equipment, and Thicklin suspected that Jackson was the culprit. Jackson later told police that he had heard Thicklin was looking for him.
Jackson said he was walking to a friend’s house on the night of the shootings, when he heard someone call to him from a car. When Jackson responded, he saw Thicklin pull out a handgun. Jackson then pulled out his own gun and fired, killing both men. Thicklin was found with eight gunshot wounds in the driver’s seat of a blue Lincoln Town car, and a gun was found next to him. Johnson was found with multiple gunshots a short distance from the car in a front yard. Police also found cocaine and marijuana in Thicklin’s vehicle.
Though witnesses heard the gunshots and saw Jackson running from the scene, there were no independent witnesses to the shooting. Jackson later turned himself in, surrendered his weapon and stated that he shot Thicklin and Johnson in self-defense. Property matching the description of Thicklin’s property was found in Jackson’s car.
Jackson was scheduled to go to trial Monday, when he entered the plea agreement. Assistant District Attorneys Blair Alford and Darrell Sims prosecuted the case.
