Remembering Lester Brooks, Jr. – A life taken too Soon

NOXUBEE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Lester Brooks, Jr., leaves behind two daughters and a two-month old son.

Family and friends say he will be remembered as a man who cared about his community.

The people WCBI talked to say their friend, who they called “LB,” was a great father, a hard-worker and a community man.

“We’re just trying to come together on a positive note and just have fun. Any age. We aren’t turning no body down,” says Brooks.

Lester Brooks, Jr., talked to WCBI News just two years ago, at this kickball tournament he organized for the Golden Triangle teams.

Friends say this is just one way he tried to make a positive impact in his hometown.

They say the pain is even greater because Brooks had just celebrated his 32nd birthday Friday.

“I looked on his page Friday, it was ‘Happy Birthday L.B.,’ after midnight, it was ‘Rest in peace, L.B.’,” says friend, Shaquita Malone.

Javancy Jones was one of the last ones who got to spend time with him, before he died from a gunshot wound to the chest.

Jones walked up as shots were being fired early Saturday morning, at the Track Side Nightclub in Noxubee county.

Instead of walking away from the gunfire, Jones ran toward it.

That’s when he found his friend suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, so he put him in a car, and drove him to the hospital.

“I got him out, we put him on the bed, he was still breathing, the nurses told me he was still breathing. I even checked his pulse, he was still breathing. I asked him, I said, ‘L.B., can you hear me?’ He already wasn’t saying anything back, so I said, ‘if you hear me, just squeeze my hand.’ He squeezed my hand and then the doctor told me to get everybody back. I got everybody back. I walked out, the next time I saw him, he was gone.”

Jones says Brooks’ legacy will continue to live on through everything he’s done for his community.

“He started a bike giveaway to the kids, to the middle school kids. He would go around get donations, he donated, and just gave bikes to all the kids that had good grades, and so that was the type of person he was. He’s always been positive, always had a vision, and we were always joking about L.B. for mayor.”

Not only did he give back, he also brought dozens together and started what many call a kickball family.

“He has brought approximately 300 and something players together and we have teams in Meridian, Starkville, Columbus, Brooksville, and West Point.”

This week is dedicated to Brooks and each evening, the community is holding an event in honor of him.