GUILTY NC - William “Andy” Banks, 39, Raleigh, met someone about selling his car, 12 Sept 2020 *ARREST*

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Ontario Mom said:
It's entirely possible AB was under the false impression that he was meeting 2 men, because that's what JM told him when they set up the meeting, that him and his friend/brother/whoever would be meeting him. Entirely possible there was no one else, just JM.
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true - it could give him a sense of security knowing he was meeting two people? I recently picked up an item at someone's house and both the husband and wife were there - for some reason, I felt safer - of course, now - I am rethinking my whole buying/selling strategies via FB marketplace. I believe I have been lucky although I do a bit of research before I meet someone.

JMO
 
oviedo said:
THIS!!! it's why I have felt safer because i can use their FB profile to find out much more about them. I bet the suspect did just that. great sleuthing @Jeepguy (and i"m very sorry about your friend)
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Our FB marketplace has TONS of "fake" profiles - people create a profile specifically to buy and sell so someone can't go look at their personal information. I've purchased from marketplace, but have always brought someone with me, and if for some reason no one is available to go with me, I screenshot the post to my husband and the address I'm going to (whether it be a house, Target, Starbucks, etc)
 
Truecolors said:
I’ve been thinking of Eve Carson, too. She, too, was so deeply loved by the community.

The glaring difference is the time of day. Knowing that the perps drove Eve around to try to get more money from ATMs, they could do that under the cover of night. But this was 2 pm on a Saturday, from Cameron Village to the Harrison exit of 40. It boggles my mind to think of a hostage situation going unnoticed. They had to be seen by so many :(

MOO
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ITA. I live in the area and am often on that stretch of I40 several times a week. For those not familiar with it, there are 4 lanes running in each direction, and even with Covid, and fewer vehicles on the roads, traffic on that highway, anywhere in the Raleigh/Durham area, is heavy to very heavy almost anytime of day, and any day of the week. I cannot believe that the perp(s) stayed in the area until dark, and I would be shocked if a cell phone being tossed out of a car window did not get noticed by one or more other vehicles. Now, IF they actually took exit 289 and got off, one direction after exiting takes you into Cary, and after exiting, you are immediately at a small strip of stores with a Bass Pro Shop that is usually busy, and it is pretty much fully developed. Across the street is SAS Institute, but you could not get onto that campus without card access, and you would be on cam constantly.The other side of exit 289 is more wooded and is bordered by RDU airport, Umstead State Park, and a rock quarry. If I were LE and there is evidence that they got off at the exit, I would be checking the nearby wooded areas off of that side of the exit for any sign of AB. The longer AB was in the car, the riskier it would have been for the perp(s), so they probably would want to get rid of him sooner rather than later. JMO.
 
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CurlyQ said:
Our FB marketplace has TONS of "fake" profiles - people create a profile specifically to buy and sell so someone can't go look at their personal information. I've purchased from marketplace, but have always brought someone with me, and if for some reason no one is available to go with me, I screenshot the post to my husband and the address I'm going to (whether it be a house, Target, Starbucks, etc)
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I guess I am very lucky - all of the profiles I have checked matched up with real estate property records so I know the profile name matches the address and the deed if I go to someone's house. I also will let someone else know where I'm going and meeting, etc. but it sure can be a dangerous world - our police stations have parking spots for meeting up but that doesn't work for large items - no one wants to haul a cabinet there if they can sell it out of their home.
JMO
 
oviedo said:
true - it could give him a sense of security knowing he was meeting two people? I recently picked up an item at someone's house and both the husband and wife were there - for some reason, I felt safer - of course, now - I am rethinking my whole buying/selling strategies via FB marketplace. I believe I have been lucky although I do a bit of research before I meet someone.

JMO
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We sold our vehicle through Give Me The VIN or one of those companies. The price was very fair, no hassle, and safe. Matter of fact when they came to pick up the vehicle with payment in hand, no test driving, and the driver ended up being a gal I went to elementary school.
 
sun16 said:
If that’s accurate, I sort of wonder, how did JM know AB wouldn’t show up with another guy or two? It just makes me wonder how much JM and AB told each other about themselves or who would be at the meet up.
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We had some thieves around us that would pretend to be interested in a sale post, show up to look at the item and decide they were “no longer interested”. In reality they were casing the area and the seller and would return overnight and steal whatever the item they had looked at. JM probably figured if he showed up and Andy had unexpectedly brought a friend he could just say he wasn’t interested and leave unharmed.
 
If it was just one guy then he would first be driving the RR to see how it drives. He would probably drive about 10 -20 minutes then pull off the highway saying he wants to look under the hood while it’s running. That would probably be the time that he shot or disabled Andy unless they went to ATMs after that then Andy would have had to drive but until duress. He probably got rid of Andy in a location known to him close to home.
 
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CurlyQ said:
Our FB marketplace has TONS of "fake" profiles - people create a profile specifically to buy and sell so someone can't go look at their personal information. I've purchased from marketplace, but have always brought someone with me, and if for some reason no one is available to go with me, I screenshot the post to my husband and the address I'm going to (whether it be a house, Target, Starbucks, etc)
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OfferUp is worse for fake profiles. I've learned from this site to ALWAYS meet potential buyers somewhere I feel safe and with people around that I know. For example, I've sold 3 bikes during COVID and met 2 buyers at a bike shop in full view of their cameras and staff. Just in case someone took off during a test ride.
 
sun16 said:
There are other Range Rover ads posted on the Danville area Craigslist site, and plenty of other vehicles (obviously). I wonder if Merritt reached out to anyone else. How would he know who he was dealing or meeting with just from the posting? Man, men, big men!, woman. Maybe Andy described himself. I guess Merritt could always bail on his plan anytime. But it makes me wonder who else he might have reached out to and why, or why not.
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I’m extremely interested in the answers to your great questions. I saw the FB Marketplace ad @Jeepguy posted. But I wonder how many others were contacted- and why go with the tall, young, athletic guy?
 
I too was hoping A.B. would be located before Hurricane Sally came to visit. It's pouring out now.

Regarding making use of the local P.D.: I don't sell much online, actually very rarely, but I have used the P.D. parking lot and designated spots to transact a couple of times in the past, and would not hesitate to do so again. I also would not hesitate to go into the PD and ask if any of the officers would be willing to keep watch nearby if, for any reason, I felt nervous. They are usually helpful and they get it.

IMO, someone who has scamming or worse on their mind will not agree to meet at the P.D. where they will be on video surveillance and possibly watched in person. If I were to sell something (like on Craig's List) I would specify meeting at my local P.D. right in the ad, which I believe would quickly weed out nefarious up-to-no-good folks.

If I were selling a large item that necessitated a transaction at my house I'd enlist a large burly neighborhood guy to hang out and look serious. A large burly dog would be welcome to hang out too.

Safety in numbers.
 
“Police fear a former Gastonia resident who went missing over the weekend in Raleigh may have been killed.

William Andrew Banks Jr., known as Andy to his friends, has not been found and no one has been charged in his death, but Raleigh Police officers said Wednesday the case is now being investigated as a homicide...

...He was supposedly meeting a potential buyer of the vehicle and that person’s mechanic in a shopping center. The three reportedly took the vehicle for a test drive and Banks has not been heard from since...

...‘The Holy Spirit be with him and keep him until we find him,” his mother, Robin Banks, said....’”

entire article: Missing man case now a homicide investigation
 
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Boodles said:
“Police fear a former Gastonia resident who went missing over the weekend in Raleigh may have been killed.

William Andrew Banks Jr., known as Andy to his friends, has not been found and no one has been charged in his death, but Raleigh Police officers said Wednesday the case is now being investigated as a homicide...

...He was supposedly meeting a potential buyer of the vehicle and that person’s mechanic in a shopping center. The three reportedly took the vehicle for a test drive and Banks has not been heard from since...

...‘The Holy Spirit be with him and keep him until we find him,” his mother, Robin Banks, said....’”

entire article: Missing man case now a homicide investigation
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I’m not really buying the he’s my mechanic thing yet. Probably a ruse. Partner in crime more like it. We’ll see.
 
Thinking of Andy and his family, loved ones and LE as the rain storm's are lingering over area.
Difficult in searches, and evidence washes away at outdoor crime scene's if involved in Andy's case. MOO

I am sure rain, wind, thunder or fire would not keep his loved ones especially Andy's brother from their continued searching.

Maybe a lot already revealed by LE Of evidence and the quietness is typical before the storm.

The wait maybe forensic testing pending results.

All JMO
No MSM UPDATES or LE breaking updates at this time.

Praying for the community..... To remain in unity. I believe Andy was a genuine peace maker.
 
Jeepguy said:
They must have footage to be charging JM with robbery, is that correct? Because that is a different charge completely than the Larceny of Motor Vehicle.

Am I understanding that correctly?
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It is my understanding that they are two separate charges.

I’d have to think LE can see the time and location of withdrawals from AB’s bank, and then look at the video of those withdrawals and be able to see the perp driving the Range Rover and making the withdrawal.


My guess is that someone was in the backseat with AB holding him at gun point, but they can’t be seen on video and the perp is doing the ‘code of the streets’ thing and not ratting out the other guy.
 
Jeepguy said:
They must have footage to be charging JM with robbery, is that correct? Because that is a different charge completely than the Larceny of Motor Vehicle.

Am I understanding that correctly?
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That is my understanding as well. I would think AB's banking records would be one of the first things LE got access to. As I stated in an earlier post, I would not be surprised at all if it is found that AB was forced to drive to a bank or banks and make withdrawals from ATM's. If so, there is surely video, and may show him being held at gunpoint. I also thought that if his cell phone was found with JM's fingerprints on it, that may possibly constitute enough evidence that it was stolen from AB? There may even be video evidence of his wallet and/or cell phone being taken at gunpoint. JMO
 
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