On a Tuesday evening in Hampton, Virginia, the life of a young man from Newport News was cut short by gunfire. Ricky Devon Brooks, Jr., a 19-year-old Black / African American male, was found shot inside his car on May 5, 2020. Police responded to calls about shots fired at 9:51 p.m. and discovered a four-door sedan that had come to rest against a tree in the first block of Sacramento Drive, outside Luther Machen Elementary School. Brooks was in the driver's seat and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Tire marks in a nearby grassy area indicated that the sedan had jumped a curb from the school’s circular driveway before continuing about 20 feet into the tree. As detectives began their work, they did not immediately release a motive or other details of the shooting, such as how many times Brooks was shot or whether the shooter had been inside the car with him.
Friends who posted on a memorial page remembered Ricky as a funny and loving person.
The investigation into the homicide led police to identify a suspect. Amier Antonio Wynn, who was 16 years old at the time of the killing, was charged in connection with Ricky Brooks' death. The case proceeded through the justice system, culminating in a conviction.
In August 2021, Amier Antonio Wynn was sentenced to a 22-year active prison term for the murder. At the time of his sentencing, Wynn was already in the custody of the Virginia Department of Corrections. He had also been convicted for a separate fatal shooting that he committed just ten days after killing Ricky Brooks. With Wynn’s conviction and sentencing, the case was officially closed as of March 2022.
