A Shelby County jury on Friday found 45-year-old Joshua Banks guilty of first-degree murder in the Oct. 3, 2024 shooting of Geneva Gladney in Memphis’ Hyde Park neighborhood. Gladney was discovered shot outside her apartment at the University Gardens Manor complex on Vollintine Avenue near University Street, following a trial held in Shelby County Criminal Court.
Prosecutors told jurors Banks was the gunman and urged the court to impose a sentence of life without the possibility of parole, according to Action News 5. The outlet reports the jury returned its guilty verdict on Friday.
When Banks was arrested in October 2024, court records showed he and Gladney had dated for roughly six months before she ended the relationship after discovering $900 missing from her bank account on Sept. 26, 2024, WREG reported. Relatives told reporters Banks had allegedly threatened members of Gladney’s family, and he was booked into jail on a $400,000 bond following the arrest.
How prosecutors say the case unfolded
In court, prosecutors highlighted surveillance video they said showed Banks’ car entering and leaving the University Gardens Manor complex the night Gladney was killed, along with messages investigators say he sent promising to return the missing money, according to Action News 5. Testimony and other evidence presented at trial formed the backbone of the jury’s decision. The station reports Banks is scheduled to appear in court again on June 15.
What’s next
Family members said they were shattered by Gladney’s killing and told reporters they had urged witnesses to talk with investigators during the original probe, WREG reported. The judge will set a formal sentencing date after post-verdict procedures and will decide whether to grant prosecutors’ request for a life-without-parole sentence.
