On Valentine's Day of 2017, a visit to a friend's home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, turned fatal for 53-year-old Roosevelt Florida. He and his friend, 42-year-old Lonnie Henderson, were found shot to death inside Henderson's apartment on 70th Avenue in a crime that authorities would later describe as a robbery gone wrong. The discovery was made after Henderson's girlfriend, unable to reach him, went to the apartment and found the door slightly ajar.
Inside, a tragic scene awaited, with both men having sustained fatal gunshot wounds.
The investigation into the double homicide led authorities to three brothers: Brandon, Brian, and Darian Middleton. According to investigators, the motive for the killings was robbery. Evidence presented suggested that the brothers had planned to rob Henderson, and Roosevelt Florida was tragically in the wrong place at the wrong time. The girlfriend of one of the brothers testified that she had overheard conversations about the planned robbery and had dropped them off near the scene of the crime on the night of the murders.
Following their arrests, all three brothers were indicted on two counts of first-degree murder and one count of armed robbery. They initially pleaded not guilty to the charges. While details of the ensuing legal proceedings are not extensively publicized, it is understood that the cases against the three brothers moved through the judicial system, culminating in what would be a long and arduous process for the families of the victims seeking justice. The arrests brought a sense of resolution to the community, though the violent nature of the crime left a lasting impact.
