An Indianapolis man will spend the next 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of his roommate, a woman he lived alongside in a house divided into seven separate rental units. Abdul Banks, who was 20 years old at the time of the killing, was sentenced to a total of 25 years, with five years suspended to probation, for the July 2025 death of 44-year-old Shawnetta Small.
According to Fox 59, Banks pleaded guilty to one count of voluntary manslaughter, a Level 2 felony, after originally being charged with murder. Out of his total sentence, 20 years will be served in the Indiana Department of Correction while the remaining five years are suspended to probation, the station reported. Indiana state sentencing guidelines, laid out in a document from the Indiana Department of Correction, list a fixed term of 10 to 30 years for a Level 2 felony, with an advisory sentence of 17.5 years.
A Disturbance Call Turns Deadly on Downey Avenue
The case traces back to the night of July 11, 2025, when IMPD officers responded to the 1500 block of North Downey Avenue after a reported disturbance between roommates, according to Fox 59. WTHR reported that officers responded around 8 p.m., near East 16th Street and Emerson Avenue. Banks and Small each rented separate units within the seven-bedroom house, per details reported by WTHR.
Small had called 911 to say that Banks had hit her with a gun and that she wanted him arrested, WTHR reported. Officers arriving at the scene found her in a basement room with what first appeared to be a neck stab wound, later determined to be a gunshot wound; she was pronounced dead at the scene. WIBC separately reported that officers responded after Small called 911 to say her roommate had attacked her, and that she was found dead at the home from two gunshot wounds.
Toilet Paper Dispute and a Loud Boom in the Basement
In the aftermath, Banks told detectives that he and Small had argued after she wiped used toilet paper on him, according to WTHR’s reporting. Witnesses told police they heard a loud boom coming from the basement while Banks and Small were the only two people down there at the time, the station reported.
The Marion County Coroner’s Office later ruled Small’s death a homicide and confirmed that she was killed by a gunshot wound, Fox 59 reported. WIBC’s initial coverage of the case identified Banks as 20 years old and Small as 44 at the time of his arrest.
Guilty Plea Brings Case to a Close
More than a year after the shooting, Banks pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter rather than facing trial on the original murder charge. The plea and sentencing bring a legal resolution to a case that began with a 911 call reporting a disturbance at a shared east-side rooming house and ended with one roommate dead and the other bound for two decades behind bars.
