Derrell Bennett Pleads Guilty in 2010 Keith Banks Shooting

Derrell Bennett pleaded guilty Friday to second degree murder while armed in the 2010 death of Keith Banks.

Prosectors say that Bennett, along with Reginald Vance, drove Banks to Fort Circle Parks. When they arrived, Bennett forced Banks out of the car, then chased and shot him. Vance, meanwhile, waited in the car and the two men fled the scene together, according to charging documents.

A witness identified a tan Chevy Tahoe as belonging to Vance that investigators believe he was driving at the time the crime was committed. Officers used data from cell phone towers to show the two men were together at the time of the crime, according to court documents.

Vance pled guilty in April to being an accessory to the crime and is due to be sentenced Dec. 21.

The plea agreement mandates a 17 year sentence for Bennett. He is scheduled to be sentenced before Judge Ronna Beck Jan. 25.

Both men originally faced charges of first-degree murder while armed, but Beck found there was not enough evidence to pursue the charges.

Plea documents will be added to this post.

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