The Colorado man accused of kidnapping and murdering a Vermont man as part of an international conspiracy to commit murder for hire entered a guilty plea to charges that may result in a life sentence on Friday in federal court.
In his court appearance, 35-year-old Jerry Banks altered his plea from not guilty to guilty. Banks’ sentencing hearing will be set for a later time.
ABC News confirms the news on its official Twitter account:
The Colorado man who prosecutors say abducted and killed a Vermont man as part of an international murder for hire conspiracy pleaded guilty in federal court to charges that could land him in prison for life. https://t.co/I5j7KOlsB5
— ABC News (@ABC) June 10, 2023
In connection with the murder of Gregory Davis of Danville, Vermont, in January 2018, Banks was accused of both kidnapping and murder for hire. He had at first asserted his innocence. Davis’ body was discovered on a wintry Vermont country road.
Serhat Gumrukcu, a conspirator from Los Angeles who is also charged with murder for hire in the case, and Davis were involved in a fraudulent oil deal, according to the prosecution, and Banks was a member of a conspiracy that started when Davis threatened to reveal this to the FBI.
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Gumrukcu and Berk Eratay, who is charged with the same offenses, both have active cases. Both have entered a not-guilty plea.
Aren Lee Ethridge, a fourth defendant from Las Vegas, entered a guilty plea in July and is currently awaiting sentencing.
The four suspects were linked by Banks, who was friends with Ethridge, who was friends with Eratay, who worked for Gumrukcu, for more than four years after Davis’ death.
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