Crime & Public Safety
Crime & Public Safety

Teen sentenced to 30 years in community leader’s death

Eric Banks accepted a plea deal Monday in the shooting death of community activist Barney Simms. (Credit: Atlanta Police Department)
Eric Banks accepted a plea deal Monday in the shooting death of community activist Barney Simms. (Credit: Atlanta Police Department)
By Christian Boone
Nov 13, 2017

An Atlanta teen-ager will serve 30 years in prison after pleading guilty Monday in the shooting death of civil rights activist Barney Simms.

Eric Banks, 17 at the time, was convinced by his mother to turn himself six days after the April 2016 shooting Simms outside his home. She had recognized her son from surveillance footage captured at the Waffle House on Virginia Avenue, where Banks had met Simms about an hour before his death.

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About the Author

A native Atlantan, Boone joined the AJC staff in 2007. He quickly carved out a niche covering crime stories, assuming the public safety beat in 2014. He's covered some of the biggest trials this decade, from Hemy Neuman to Ross Harris to Chip Olsen, the latter of which was featured on Season 7 of the AJC's award-winning "Breakdown" podcast.

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