Baltimore Police Officer Charged With Murdering Stepson

By Rudy Malcom [former] - July 15, 2021
Daily Stories | Homicides | Suspects | Victims |

A Baltimore Police officer was charged on July 14 with the first and second-degree murder of his stepson. The body of Dasan Jones was found in the family’s Anne Arundel County home last week.

“The alleged actions of Officer Banks are not only deplorable, but shocking to the conscience,” said Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael S. Harrison in a press release. “Our department will continue to work closely with the Anne Arundel County Police Department during this ongoing investigation.”

In the charging documents against Eric Banks Jr., police said Jones’ death was ruled a homicide by asphyxiation. Banks, 34, is also charged with child abuse resulting in death.

Since his arrest on July 6, Banks has been held in protective custody as a potential suicide risk. When speaking with detectives, he reportedly conveyed homicidal and suicidal thoughts.

Banks’ attorney told the Baltimore Sun that Banks had attempted suicide the day before Jones’ body was found. The lawyer also said Banks said Jones died by suicide and that he found his body in the bathtub.

Banks has been a Baltimore Police officer for around three years. He had filed a protective order from his wife, Jones’ mother, in late May, which he withdrew two days later.

On June 25, complaining of stalking and escalating emotional abuse, she filed for a protective order against Banks, which a judge denied three days later. 

She filed a second protective order on July 6, hours before Jones was found dead. In the order, she said Banks was messaging her from her son’s phone. In the texts, Banks said he had seen her near the hotel where she was staying. A temporary protective order was granted.

In charging documents, Banks’ wife said she had called her son to ask to pick him up around 4 p.m. When he did not meet her, she called the police, “believing something was out of the ordinary,” according to the charging documents.

Banks told officers when they arrived that Jones had just left the home. However, upon searching the area, officers could not find him. They returned to the home, which Banks allowed them to search, police said.

According to charging documents, officers located Jones’ body in a “hole in the wall with a white cover leaning on it.” Banks described this area to police as his gun safe. 

The next day, Banks was suspended without pay from the Baltimore Police Department, according to a press release. His police powers had previously been suspended, but police did not provide a date or reason.

On July 8, Banks was denied bail in a hearing at the Anne Arundel County District Court, the Baltimore Sun reported. At the time, he faced only charges of assault and resisting arrest for attempting to grab the gun of the officer while being handcuffed. 

Jones had recently completed his freshman year in Glen Burnie High School’s magnet BioMedical Allied Health program. He was “described by those who knew him as quiet and kind,” according to the Capital Gazette. 

An obituary said he hoped to become a general surgeon.