Columbia man arrested in Las Vegas indicted for 2020 killing
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) -
A Boone County grand jury indicted a Columbia man arrested last month in Las Vegas for a 2020 killing.
The grand jury indicted Maurice Banks Jr. on Friday with second-degree murder, first-degree assault and armed criminal action. He is scheduled to make his first circuit court appearance with Judge Kevin Crane on June 27.
Banks is accused of killing Jermaine Spain on Nov. 2, 2020 at Cosmo Park in north Columbia during a marijuana deal. U.S. Marshals arrested Banks in Las Vegas on May 28.
Police detectives said texts, witnesses and a gun Banks had on him during an arrest three days after the Cosmo Park shooting led to the murder charges. Det. Scott Decker wrote that officers found 9mm shell casings at the Cosmo Park scene. Three days later, on Nov. 5, 2020, officers chased down Banks and another man in east Columbia. Police said they found a Smith & Wesson M&P .40-caliber handgun on Banks during the arrest.
Text messages the department got through a search warrant showed Banks asking someone how to "chang (sp) the barrel" of something. A different person then sent Banks a video of how to change the barrel of a Smith & Wesson M&P handgun, Decker wrote. The detective said the gun is capable of having a barrel able to fire 9 mm or .40-caliber bullets.
Decker said tests done on the gun by the Missouri State Highway Patrol showed that it could have fired the bullets found at Spain's death. The detective wrote that two photos of the gun taken on Nov. 2 and 3 appear to show two different barrels on the gun, indicating Banks may have changed them after the shooting.
A witness shot that night, identified as I.B., told officers he drove Spain to the park to sell marijuana, and saw the suspected shooters arrive in a newer blue car. Decker wrote that officers knew Banks drove a newer-looking blue bar with Nevada license plates, and that Banks was driving a blue Nissan when they tried to stop him. Decker said that the car had glass shards inside of it and spots of blood.
Decker said other texts showed Banks asking how to get his car window fixed about 40 minutes after Spain's killing.
A second person, Isaiah Brunson, also faces murder charges for Spain's death. Brunson is accused of driving Spain to the park that night to sell marijuana. His next court hearing is set for July 5.
