Habitual offender convicted, sentenced to life without parole

PINE BELT, Miss. (WDAM) - A Forrest County inmate with a history of violent offenses received a sentence of life in prison after a jury returned a guilty verdict in a two-day trial.

The Forrest County Circuit Court convicted Laquon Akeem Fluker, aka “Fluker”, on June 21 of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault while he was an inmate at the Forrest County Jail.

On June 23, Lin Carter, District Attorney for Forrest and Perry Counties, announced that the court had issued a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole under Mississippi’s violent habitual offender law.

Fluker, a native of Meridian, was previously convicted in Lauderdale County of conspiracy to introduce contraband into a correctional facility in 2014, robbery in 2016 and arson in 2019. He served over a year in prison for each of those crimes. Fluker was arrested again in June 2020 for the murder of Hattiesburg resident Rhakim James.

In March of 2021, Fluker conspired with five other inmates to commit aggravated assault upon another inmate by luring him into one of their cells and assaulting him with a shank the inmates had made in secret. The Forrest County Sheriff’s Office investigated the incident and presented it to the district attorney’s office for prosecution.

The district attorney charged Fluker as a violent habitual offender due to his previous convictions.

“We work to enforce the law all across Forrest and Perry Counties, and that includes inside of our county jails,” said Carter. “This offender has a consistent record of violence dating back to his teenage years. We will continue to work vigorously to keep violent offenders off our streets and make our communities safe.”

Assistant District Attorneys Matthew Shoemaker and Clay Cranford prosecuted the case.

Fluker was remanded into the custody of Forrest County Sheriff Charlie Sims to await transport to the Mississippi Department of Corrections where he will serve his sentence.

“I want to thank Sheriff Charlie Sims and his staff for their investigation in this case and for their outstanding work in operating a safe correctional facility,” said Carter.

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