A convicted killer who had been released to state supervision is headed back to prison for a long stretch after federal agents say they caught him in a south Minneapolis drug operation with two loaded pistols and distribution-level quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine. Officers were watching what they believed were narcotics deals near Park Avenue and East Lake Street when they moved in. Court records identify the defendant as 39-year-old James Andre Banks, who pleaded guilty earlier this year.
United States Attorney Daniel N. Rosen announced that Banks was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and cocaine, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Minnesota. Prosecutors said officers from the Minneapolis and Metro Transit Police Departments, working alongside federal partners during a Focused Enforcement Detail, surrounded Banks and recovered narcotics along with evidence consistent with drug distribution. Federal officials said the firearms seized were a Taurus G2C with an extended 18-round magazine and a Glock Model 17 with an extended 24-round magazine, both loaded.
Agencies and officials
Rosen said his office will continue to prioritize prosecutions of violent felons who illegally possess firearms and traffic in dangerous drugs, according to the same announcement. Minneapolis Police Chief Bill Peterson said that removing “dangerous offenders involved in drug trafficking and illegal firearm offenses” makes communities safer, and ATF Assistant Special Agent in Charge Spence Burnett noted that Banks “had every opportunity to walk away from that life and made the opposite choice at every turn.” The press release credits the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Minneapolis Police Department and the Metro Transit Police Department with the investigation.
How police say they caught him
According to GovInfo, officers first obtained a search warrant after a confidential informant reported seeing a man with a semi-automatic handgun and narcotics near Lake Street and Park Avenue. Surveillance teams later spotted Banks on June 10, 2023. Officers say he took off on foot, discarded one firearm and was then detained. Searches of his person and vehicle turned up a second handgun along with drugs. Those state-level charges and the evidence collected at the time later formed the basis for federal drug-trafficking and firearms counts.
Background: prior convictions and supervision
Banks was prohibited from possessing firearms because of earlier state convictions for second-degree intentional murder and second-degree assault with a deadly weapon. Minnesota Department of Corrections records show Banks was placed under supervision on May 23, 2022, after serving time on prior sentences, a status prosecutors cited as part of their decision to pursue federal charges.
Charges and penalties
Banks pleaded guilty on January 21, 2026, to one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture containing methamphetamine and cocaine, and the indictment included allegations tied to his prior violent convictions, according to GovInfo. Sentencing took place in federal court in Minneapolis before U.S. District Judge John R. Tunheim. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David B. Green and Mary S. Riverso prosecuted the case, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office said forensic work in the investigation was provided by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
