Body believed to be missing Raleigh man Andy Banks found in Virginia, man accused of stealing car now charged with murder
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Raleigh Police Department announced Thursday afternoon that they believe the body of William "Andy" Banks, a 39-year-old man who went missing over the weekend, has been found in Virginia.
And later on Thursday, court records showed Justin Fernando Merritt, who was arrested earlier in the week for allegedly stealing Banks' car, was charged with murder. Merritt is scheduled to be arraigned on murder charges in Wake County on Friday.
The body was found with assistance from the Pittsylvania County Sheriff's Office, police said. It will be sent to the coroner in Roanoke, Virginia, for autopsy and positive identification.
Banks has not been seen or heard from since Saturday when he told friends he was going to the Cameron Village area to meet a man who was interested in buying his SUV.
MERRITT MAKES COURT APPEARANCE
"Andy would have gladly handed them the keys to that car if it meant he got to live," friend Cliff Cash told ABC11 on Thursday upon hearing the news. " He would have done everything he could to talk his way out of it."
Banks' 2011 Range Rover, which he was trying to sell, was found Monday afternoon in Danville, Virginia. On Tuesday, Merritt, 34, was arrested and charged with stealing Banks' vehicle.
On Thursday, updated records showed that Merritt was also charged with murder.
Merritt was extradited to Raleigh on Wednesday morning. Arrest warrants out of Wake County released Monday said Merritt used a gun to threaten Banks and steal his SUV.
A search warrant released by the Danville Police Department shows the case has been considered a homicide investigation since Monday.
It states that Banks' phone was found on the side of a road in North Carolina after he was reported to have met with Merritt.
The warrant shows police searched Merritt's home and found a handgun, three phones, boxes of ammunition and two spent shell casings. The stolen SUV was also found under a tarp.
Merritt appeared before a judge Wednesday afternoon. He is being held on a $2 million secured bond.
In court on Wednesday, Merritt heard the other charges he's facing: Larceny of a motor vehicle, which carries up to 39 months. Robbery with a dangerous weapon, which carries up to 204 months. He was also charged with possession of a firearm by a felon, which carries up to 47 months.
"As a decent human being the right thing to do would be for him to help them," Cash said. "But I don't know if he's a person who's particularly worried about doing the right thing."
People who want to send their condolences to the Banks family can do so at the following address:
The Banks Family
C/O First United Methodist Church
P O Box 218
Gastonia, NC 28053
