Columbus man in father, toddler slayings sentenced for attempted robbery
Though a Columbus jury last year found Antonio Bernard “Tony” Willis not guilty of murder in the shootings of a father and his 3-year-old son, it convicted him for attempted robbery.
For that, the 42-year-old faced a sentence of up to 30 years in prison and Superior Court Judge Gil McBride handed down the maximum Wednesday, saying Willis had lived a life marked by a career in crime that had steadily worsened.
The judge first heard testimony from the family of 41-year-old Joseph “Jo Jo” Banks and son Jacaiden Banks, found shot dead on Nov. 27, 2018, outside a vacant house at 6 Stuart Drive.
Willis was convicted of luring the father to that location for the purpose of robbing him. This was after Banks had let Willis stay in Banks’ Victory Drive motel room with him and his son when Willis had nowhere else to live.
Banks had given him food and money, and yet Willis betrayed that trust, and his betrayal led to the slayings, prosecutor Robin Anthony argued during Willis’ sentencing hearing.
She compared Willis to a “Judas goat,” a goat a sheepherder adds to his flock to live with the sheep, until the goat they’ve come to trust leads them to slaughter.
Anthony also argued that Willis’ previous convictions - his record included auto theft and for having a firearm while possessing cocaine and marijuana with the intent to distribute it - showed he was an increasing danger to public safety.
Willis’ attorney, public defender Bentley Adams IV, countered that Willis was not responsible for the homicides, as the jury acquitted him on two counts of murder and one of aggravated assault.
He asked that Willis be released because of the time he already has served in jail, while awaiting trial, noting his client has significant health issues that need treatment. McBride rejected that.
The Banks family testifies
Among those testifying at the sentencing were Banks’ mother, Wanda Banks-Rookard, who said her son grew up in a good family that regularly attended church, his father working two jobs to support them.
“He loved his family, and we loved him,” she said.
Trial testimony showed Banks made money by dealing drugs.
“There was absolutely no reason to turn to the streets,” testified the mother, who like other relatives said Banks had some faults. “He had his own demons to deal with daily,” she added.
But her grandchild had no role in his father’s connection to Willis.
“My poor baby Jacaiden had nothing to do with anything,” she said.
Investigators believe that after seeing his father shot seven times, the toddler was executed with a gunshot wound to the back of the head so he could not be a witness.
Banks’ mother recounted the number of homicides Columbus has had over the past few years, and said, “Every time I hear about another murder, I think of my son and my grandbaby.”
A victim’s advocate read a statement on behalf of Banks’ sister, who said her brother was popular and generous.
“He made mistakes, as we all do, but he never harmed anyone,” she said.
Her brother had young relatives who will grow up without him now, she added. Speaking of Willis’ betrayal of the man who took him in, she asked: “How do I help them understand that monsters are not the ones under the bed, but the ones who walk beside you, calling you ‘friend’?”
The verdict
The jury in Willis’ double-murder trial deliberated about three hours Dec. 9 before acquitting him on two counts of murder and one of aggravated assault.
The verdict was a victory for Adams, in the 35-year-old’s first major trial as lead defense attorney. In his closing argument, Adams took just 15 minutes to outline the evidence prosecutors did not have against his client.
They did not have the 9-millimeter pistol that was used. They did not have DNA evidence tying Willis to the homicides. They did not have an eyewitness identifying Willis as the killer.
Prosecutors had no definitive evidence proving Willis fired the fatal shots, he said: “The state’s case is highly circumstantial.”
Circumstantial case
When Adams finished his closing argument at Willis’ trial, Assistant District Attorney Robin Anthony outlined the circumstantial evidence she said would prove Willis’ guilt.
On Nov. 26, 2018, neighbors at the Colony Inn, where Willis and Banks were living, heard Willis trying to get Banks to go to Stuart Drive to commit a robbery . Banks refused, saying he had to look out for his son, the witnesses testified.
At 1:08 the next morning, Banks borrowed a friend’s Ford F-150, so he, Willis and the boy could buy food. Surveillance video showed them leaving, with Banks driving, Willis on the passenger’s side and the boy seated between them.
At 3:28 a.m., a woman living on Infantry Drive, close to Stuart Drive in the Benning Hills area, heard a series of gunshots, she testified. She also heard a pickup truck idling before it pulled away, and two cars also leaving, she said.
Around 4:30 a.m., surveillance video recorded Willis arriving at Groome Transportation, 2800 Harley Court, where he was wearing different clothes than he wore at the Colony Inn. Booking his ticket with a cousin’s name, he caught a 4:45 a.m. shuttle to Atlanta, arriving before daylight.
At 8:37 a.m., passersby found the bodies on Stuart Drive, the father on one side of the driveway, the son on the other. Anthony said gunshot residue on the child’s hands showed he had them over his ears, when he was hit, covering his head as he sat in the truck, where the gunman on the passenger’s side was shooting his father as the driver’s side door opened and blood splattered against it.
The truck, with the driver’s side window shot out and six 9-millimeter bullet casings inside it, all from the same gun, was found behind a vacant house at 1032 Henry Ave.
Willis remained free in Atlanta until U.S. Marshals captured him in May 2019. He has spent more than 1,300 days in jail, since his arrest, and will get credit for the time served.
