Jercar Brooks, a 36-year-old Black man, was found murdered in his Bronx apartment on January 24, 2014. Police discovered his body after responding to a 911 call at his residence at 634 East 233rd Street. An investigation revealed that Brooks had sustained two gunshot wounds to his torso and was pronounced dead at the scene. Although he was found on a Friday, detectives later determined that he had actually been killed the previous afternoon.
The investigation into the death of Jercar
Brooks quickly focused on two men who were seen arriving at his building in a black Chevy Camaro. Surveillance footage captured one of the men, described as tall and wearing a grey New York Yankees hat and a grey and red North Face jacket, entering the building with Brooks. The two were seen leaving and re-entering the building together. A short time later, the same man was recorded fleeing the apartment alone, carrying a large package before getting back into the waiting Camaro and leaving the scene.
Years later, a significant breakthrough was made in the case. Donovan Grant was identified as the primary suspect. The motive for the murder was determined to be a robbery that occurred during a planned marijuana deal. Grant had gone to Brooks' apartment with the intention of robbing him, bringing a gun and a bag of fake money to deceive him. During the course of the robbery, Grant shot Brooks twice, killing him, and then fled with a box of marijuana.
In August 2022, eight years after the murder, Donovan Grant, then 60 years old, pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to participating in the armed robbery and admitted to shooting and killing Jercar Brooks. He pleaded guilty to one count of Hobbs Act robbery, which carries a maximum sentence of twenty years in prison. The successful resolution of the case was the result of a long-term investigation by the New York City Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
