(TotalConservative.com) – In a string of crimes spanning three cases out of Cobb County, a young man believed to be a gang member has admitted guilt, pledging to serve a 19-year sentence for his actions, according to state authorities.
Marietta resident Donald Bannister, 20, accepted the charges pronounced against him in all three incidents earlier this month, stated Georgia’s Attorney General Chris Carr. Bannister’s most grave accusation, voluntary manslaughter, stemmed from the demise of Norval Bailey, aged 30, in June 2021. His other misdeeds included an armed robbery in January 2019 involving two teenage victims and an assault on a fellow inmate at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center in September 2020.
Carr revealed that Bannister is believed to be affiliated with the 2Solid street gang, associated with the notorious Bloods. Bannister confessed to the court that he had been a part of 2Solid since he was 15. His punishment comprises 19 years of imprisonment followed by an 11-year probation period.
Bannister’s crime spree kicked off in January 2019 when he attempted to rob two teenagers, aged 18 and 19, during a drug transaction at a Marietta hotel. Despite being only 15 years old, Bannister attacked the 19-year-old with a gun and shot the 18-year-old. He was subsequently arrested, and both victims eventually recovered fully. This case was moved from Juvenile to Superior Court.
While Bannister was in jail and his assault case was being processed, he, along with two other individuals, assaulted another inmate. This episode resulted in him facing charges of aggravated assault and two counts of breach of Georgia’s Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act.
In February 2021, Bannister was granted bond. However, a drug deal with Bailey that turned lethal four months later saw him shoot Bailey twice. Bailey was discovered injured at an apartment complex on Massachusetts Avenue on June 15, 2021, around 9 p.m. He was rushed to the hospital and was declared dead upon arrival.
Bannister managed to evade arrest for more than a year before being apprehended in August 2022 by the U.S. Marshals Service in East Point, as reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Bannister was 18 when captured.
Bannister is currently detained in the Cobb jail, with the Georgia Department of Corrections overseeing his incarceration. Prison records indicate that the latest possible date for his release is July 17, 2038.
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