Silento a.k.a. Ricky Lamar Hawk — The Frederick Rooks Murder Case and Insanity as a Defense

Ricky Lamar Hawk's Mugshot -- January 2021

Update
A Pretrial Hearing is set for May 30, 2024 at 9:00 AM.

Case Summary
On the afternoon (3:35 pm) of January 31st, rapper Silento or Ricky Lamar Hawks was arrested for the murder of his cousin, Frederick Rooks, 34.

Dekalb County Police responded to shots fired on January 21 around 3.30 am in the Panthersville area where they found Rooks dead at the scene with multiple gunshot wounds, including to his face and leg as reported by DeKalb police Lt. Rod Bryant.

Following the shooting, investigators said it appeared that Rooks knew the residents at one of the homes on Deep Shoals Circle, where they found Rooks in the middle of the street. Officers found at least eight bullet casings around Rooks.

Ring camera video from neighbors caught several cars leaving the scene. Investigators later connected the shooting to Hawk and arrested him Monday. He was arrested twice within 1 week in Aug 2020 and for speeding in Oct. 2020.

Hawk rocketed to international fame after releasing "Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)" in 2015, with the everyone from young children to newscasters imitating his accompanying dance moves after the song went viral. The official video has been viewed more than 1.9 billion times.

Charges
1. MALICE MURDER 16-5-1(a) Serious Felony on 01/21/2021
2. FELONY MURDER 16-5-1(c) Serious Felony on 01/21/2021
3. AGGRAVATED ASSAULT 16-5-21(a) Felony on 01/21/2021
4. POSSESSION OF A FIREARM DURING THE COMMISSION OF A FELONY 16-11-106(b) Felony on 07/28/2021

Court Information
Superior Court - DeKalb County Courthouse
556 North McDonough Street - Ground Floor Decatur, GA 30030

Case#: D0283647 and 21CR2692

On September 6, 2023 — Dr. Maria Silva and Zahra Henkel of Peachtree Comprehensive Health were authorized to complete a psychological evaluation per an Order to Allow Access at Dekalb County Jail for Psychological Evaluation.

A pretrial hearing was conducted Nov. 2nd, 2023, at 9 am.
A status hearing was on Nov. 3rd, 2023, at 9 am. There were no minute orders from this hearing.

The Case for Insanity or Delusional Compulsion
Prior Incidents of Violence and Delusion

In October of 2020, Hawk had been pulled over for driving 143 miles per hour on the I-85 and was charged with reckless driving, speeding, failure to maintain lane and improper stopping. He claimed he is always being followed by people and by satellite, adding that Donald Trump calls him daily for help.

Hawk initially argued with the officer about how fast he was going and insisted that he'd done nothing wrong even asking to inspect the equipment. Hawk per body-cam footage stated, "If there is like 10 cars following me, I can do 143 because I am not a regular person, and you could go and look on your computer and it would tell you that."

Prior to that arrest he was charged with inflicting corporal punishment on a spouse or cohabitant at a Santa Ana, California home in the 100 block of MacArthur Boulevard on August 28th. He was booked and released.

Hawk appeared to be delusional as he managed entry into a stranger's unlocked home armed with a hatchet claiming to be looking for his girlfriend. The incident took place at a Valley Village area of Los Angeles on August 29th. Hawk was driven 2 blocks away by a friend then arrested at 1:50 p.m. in the 12700 block of Albers Street, near Bellaire Avenue and about a block from Burbank Boulevard. He was allegedly swinging a hatchet at the two people inside before one of them disarmed him. Hawk was charged with assault with a deadly weapon.

Georgia Law

§ 16-3-2. Mental capacity; insanity
A person shall not be found guilty of a crime if, at the time of the act, omission, or negligence constituting the crime, the person did not have mental capacity to distinguish between right and wrong in relation to such act, omission, or negligence.

§ 16-3-3. Delusional compulsion
A person shall not be found guilty of a crime when, at the time of the act, omission, or negligence constituting the crime, the person, because of mental disease, injury, or congenital deficiency, acted as he did because of a delusional compulsion as to such act which overmastered his will to resist committing the crime.

Problems with an insanity or delusional compulsion plea

According to current precedents of the state of Georgia:

• The term mentally ill means having a disorder of thought or mood that significantly impairs judgment, behavior, capacity to recognize reality, or ability to cope with ordinary demands of life. The term mentally ill does not include a mental state shown only by repeated, unlawful, or antisocial conduct.
• Mental illness or mental abnormality is not the equivalent of legal insanity. Nelms v. State, 255 Ga. 473, 340 S.E.2d 1 (1986)
• Malice shall be implied where no considerable provocation appears and where all the circumstances of the killing show an abandoned and malignant heart.
• The defenses addressed by Uniform Superior Court Rule 31.4—insanity, mental illness and mental incompetency—form a separate category of defenses based on diminished capacity rather than justification. In these situations, an unjustified, criminal act has occurred, but the actor argues he should not be deemed fully culpable due to his mental disabilities. Evidence of mental capacity is clearly relevant in such cases but notice pursuant to USCR 31.4 is required.
• Where there was competing expert testimony concerning the defendant’s sanity, the jury was not required to accept the opinion of the defense experts. Bowman v. State, 306 Ga. 97, 100, 829 S.E.2d 139 (2019). Alvelo v. State, 290 Ga. 609, 612-613, 724 S.E.2d 377 (2012).

 

Motion and Order for Evaluation Regarding Mental Competency to Stand Trial
Rule 31.4. 
In pending superior court cases, except in proceedings for involuntary treatment or proceedings for the appointment of a guardian, where the mental competency of an accused is brought into question, the judge may exercise discretion and require a mental evaluation at public expense. 

A motion for mental evaluation may be filed in writing, setting out allegations and grounds for such motion, praying for a court-ordered evaluation. The judge may enter an order requiring a mental evaluation of the defendant for the purposes of evaluating competency to stand trial. Upon the filing of a Plea of Mental Incompetency to Stand Trial, the Court shall submit a copy of the Department's evaluation to the prosecuting attorney.

Upon the filing of a Plea of Mental Incompetency to Stand Trial, the judge shall conduct a bench trial to determine the issue of mental competency to stand trial unless the state or the defendant, within twenty days of filing of the plea, demands a special jury trial.