Attempted police officer murder, pursuit case sent to grand jury 

Published 1:00 pm Thursday, January 19, 2017

A Winchester man accused of leading police on a high-speed pursuit in which he tried to ram a cruiser and hit an officer before he hid in a kitchen cupboard sent his case to the grand jury in Clark District Court Wednesday.

Daniel Vernon Banks, 33, was arrested Jan. 6 after he ran into a house on Old Boonesboro Road, where he hid in the kitchen cabinet, forcing seven children outside without shoes, according to court documents.

Banks faces nearly two dozen charges from the incident which started when officers received a report to watch for a stolen Ford Expedition near McClanahan Eye Care on Hospital Drive.

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Winchester Police Officer Monte Corbett said he was near Lexington Avenue and Shoppers Drive when he saw the vehicle pass him in the opposite direction, he wrote in the arrest citation.

When Corbett turned around and turned on his lights and siren, he said the Expedition continued down Bypass Road and onto Boonesboro Road at speeds up to 85 mph.

In the course of the pursuit, the driver, identified later at Banks, allegedly attempted to run over an officer who set up spike strips at the intersection of Boone Avenue and Bypass Road and drove directly towards another officer’s vehicle that had stopped traffic.

Banks eventually turned into the driveway at 5925 Old Boonesboro Road, Corbett wrote, and reportedly jumped out of the vehicle while it was moving and ran into the house. Several children ran outside as officers pursued Banks. They eventually found him hiding in a kitchen cabinet inside the house. Banks was eventually arrested, though Corbett said he resisted officers’ efforts.

Banks is charged with two counts of attempted murder of a police officer, seven counts of first-degree wanton endangerment for each of the children in the home, speeding, two counts of first-degree fleeing or evading police, four counts of disregarding a traffic control device after running through four red traffic lights, reckless driving, resisting arrest, receiving stolen property and third-degree criminal mischief.

He was also served with warrants for non-payment of fines from Madison County and a parole violation for a burglary conviction in Montgomery County.

Banks remains in the Clark County Detention Center on a $100,000 cash bond.

About Whitney Leggett

Whitney Leggett is managing editor of The Winchester Sun and Winchester Living magazine. To contact her, email whitney.leggett@winchestersun.com or call 859-759-0049.

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