A police officer allegedly hid his stepson’s dead body in a bedroom wall in his home in Baltimore, NBC4 Washington reported.
Police responded to Eric Banks Jr.’s home on Tuesday to investigate a complaint that his stepson, 15-year-old Dasan Jones, was being held against his will, NBC4 Washington reported. Banks told officers his stepson wasn’t home, but police found Jones’ body in a hole in the wall with a cover when they searched the residence, the charging documents said, according to the report.
“He admits to officers that he moved his son’s body from one location in the home, and secreted it in another, Your Honor,” Assistant State’s Attorney Jason Miller said at a hearing Thursday, in which Banks was denied bail, NBC4 reported. “He has shown that he is not afraid to resort to violence.”
Banks was arrested and handcuffed at his residence after the body was discovered, NBC4 reported. When he asked to kiss his children and have the handcuffs adjusted, he made “a clear attempt to disarm” an officer by attempting to take her handgun, the officer wrote.
A person walks past a police car on July 28, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
“Mr. Banks stated multiple times ‘you’re gonna have to end this’ as we were wrestling over the firearm,” the officer wrote, according to NBC4. He was subsequently charged with assault, resisting arrest, and other offenses.
Miller said Banks “made statements that he is homicidal and suicidal.” Banks’ police powers had already been suspended without pay after being charged with a felony, though the previous incident was not disclosed, NBC4 reported. (RELATED: Two Dead, One Injured In An Apparent Murder-Suicide At Bar, Authorities Say)
The attorney for Banks asked that his client be released to home confinement at the hearing Thursday, but was denied because the judge said Banks posed a flight risk and harm to his family or himself. Banks is being held in protective custody for risk of potential suicide, according to NBC4 Washington.
Jones, who just completed his freshman year at Glen Burnie High School, was a violin player and “took great pride in his academics,” the school said, NBC4 reported.
Banks’ wife had complained Banks was stalking her and engaging in “emotional and mental abuse” last month. She had sought custody of Jones and their two sons, but the petition was denied.
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