On November 27, 2018, Joseph Banks, 41, and his three-year-old son Ja’Ceiden Banks were found shot inside a pickup on Stuart Drive in Columbus, Georgia. The two had been seen leaving the Colony Inn on Victory Drive in the truck; Joseph was in the driver’s seat and Ja’Ceiden was seated in the middle when they were discovered.

Investigators identified Antonio Tony Benard Willis as a suspect. He was reportedly in the truck’s passenger seat when the victims were last seen. Ballistics technicians recovered six 9-millimeter shell casings inside the cab, and witnesses later reported Willis attempted to sell a weapon similar to the one used. Willis left the Columbus area and was located in Atlanta on unrelated charges; he was questioned for six hours and did not confess, then was arrested on charges related to the killings and bound over to Superior Court, held without bond.

The Banks family continues to grieve this double homicide. If anyone has information about the shootings, the investigation or the events that night, please come forward.