Reginald Vance, a 39-year-old barber from Hyattsville, Md. was arraigned on first degree premeditated murder while armed charges today during his second court appearance in as many days. He is now being held without bond and is next expected in court Jan. 4, 2011 at 9 a.m.
Vance is one of two suspects that investigators say killed 29-year-old Keith Banks in Fort Circle Park in Northeast D.C. on Nov. 12. The second suspect is not named in Vance’s charging documents and no co-defendants are listed in his case.
On Tuesday afternoon D.C. Superior Court Judge Karen Howze declined to arraign Vance, and told prosecutors that if they wished to file charges to go back to the drawing board and refile their case with specific information linking Vance to the killing.
Charging documents allege that Vance drove the vehicle that was used to transport Banks and an unidentified suspect, and then, after Banks was ordered out of the vehicle, chased and shot, waited for the suspect to return to the car and fled the scene.
Vance’s attorney says that simply driving a vehicle involved in a crime does not make Vance a murder suspect.
“There is no evidence in front of the court that Mr. Vance knew the decedent would be shot,” Eugene Ohm said.
Prosecutors returned Wednesday arguing that Vance was an accomplice to Bank’s killing and that he should be held accountable for the killing to the same degree as the suspect who actually pulled the trigger on Banks.
Charging documents are below.
