ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A suspended Baltimore City Police officer will spend the next 42-years behind bars for the murder of his 15-year-old stepson.
Eric Glenn Banks Jr. was arrested back in July of 2021 for the killing of Dasan James "DJ" Jones.
Police found DJ's body stuffed inside an attic crawl space at Banks' Curtis Bay home, just one hour after his estranged wife was granted a restraining order.
DJ's mother had gone to pick him up there, but he was nowhere to be found.
As police arrived Banks reportedly lied telling them that DJ had already left.
Eventually Banks gave officers permission to search his home, at which point they found a hole in the attic with a white cover over top.
Inside of that hole was DJ's body.
After trying to steal an officer's gun to avoid arrest Banks reportedly said "my life is over, choke me."
An autopsy ultimately revealed DJ died of asphyxiation.
Banks eventually entered an Alford plea signaling enough evidence existed to convict without actually having to admit guilt.
At the time of the incident Baltimore Police Commissioner called Banks' actions "not only deplorable, but shocking to the conscience."
According to BPD, under the Maryland Police Accountability Act in 2021, Banks was immediately terminated by the Police Commissioner following his sentencing by the court.
Anne Arundel County State's Attorney Anne Colt Leitess issued this statement following sentencing.
“DJ was a promising young man with his whole life ahead of him. A rising sophomore at Glen Burnie High School, he was a member of the all-county orchestra as a talented violinist and attended a challenging magnet program which he said ‘made him want to work harder'," Leitess said. "His budding life was taken by his stepfather in a likely selfish effort to punish his estranged wife who was granted a protective order just hours before."
