Thursday, November 13, 2025

The Bum is Back

 Our boy John Arthur Banks (No relation to John Arthur Eaves) is back and back for more mayhem.



The picture was taken outside Savour Restaurant on Pearl Street in downtown Jackson recently.  The establishment was hit shortly after Banks was recorded on camera.   

Banks is a star pupil of the Hinds County Catch & Release program as he has terrorized downtown businesses since 2018.  He has no less than six felony convictions for business burglary or similar charges yet he is always set free to cause more mayhem and destruction.  

Banks' victims include Greenbrook Flowers, Pig & Pint, Downtown Snack Shop, Steve's Deli, Downtown Drug Store, Iron Horse Grill, Shiro's, Keifers, La Cazuela, Jaco's Taco's, Stanley Wine & Liquor, Fenians, Downtown Pizza & Daiquiri, Native Coffee, Hood Building, a law firm, and Snack Shack. Banks hit several more than once.  He likes to smash windows so he can enter to vandalize the business.  JJ reported Tuesday: 

Check out his criminal history.  Keep in mind Banks has never gone to trial as he always pleads guilty. 

2009: Indicted for business burglary.  Banks pleads guilty.  He is sentenced to serve 5 years in prison but the entire sentence is suspended. 

2017: Indicted for building burglary at Jaco's Tacos.  Hinds County Circuit Judge Bill Gowan sentenced Banks to serve 7 years in prison but suspended 4 years of the sentence.  Banks' residence was listed as Gateway Shelter. 

2018: Indicted for building burglary at Stanley Wine & Liquor.  Judge Gowan sentenced Banks to serve 7 years in prison but suspended 3 years of the sentence.  He ordered the sentence to run concurrently with the sentence in the 2017 case. 

2019: Indicted for business burglary of Downtown Snack Shop on West Capitol Street.  Judge William Kidd sentences him to serve 7 years in prison and suspends 2 years of the sentence.  Banks is ordered to drug/alcohol treatment. 

2020: Indicted for two counts of business burglary.  Banks hit Greenbrook Flowers and theIron Horse Grill in 2019.  Judge Kidd sentenced Banks to serve 7 years in prison but suspended 2 years of the sentence.   

2022: Indicted for business burglary after he hit the Hood Building. Judge Faye Peterson sentenced Banks to serve 7 years in prison but suspended 2 years.  The District Attorney agreed not to pursue habitual offender enhancement. 

2022: Indicted for 10 counts of business burglary.  Banks hit La Cazuela Mexican Grill, Keifer's Restaurant on Congress Street, Shiro's Restaurant, Downtown Pizza & Daiquiri, Steve's Deli, Mississippi Farmer's Market, Downtown Drug Store, Pig & Pint Restaurant, Fenians,  and Tatum & Wade law firm.   The District Attorney remanded the indictment as part of his sentence in the other 2022 case. 

2024: Capitol Police arrested Banks in July 2024 for business burglary after he hit the Farmer's Market, Downtown Drug Store, Native Coffee, and Lou's Restaurant.  Hinds County Court Judge Johnny McDaniels ordered him transported to MDOC for a one-year revocation in September 2024.  

2024: Indicted in October 2024 for business burglary and habitual offender in the Capitol Police cases.  The District Attorney seeks habitual offender enhancement for Banks.  Judge Damon Stevenson set Banks' trial for July 2026. 

Oh yes, remember that revocation? Well, the Mississippi Parole Board once again couldn't wait to put a criminal back out on the street.  You can't make this up. 

 


The police will probably arrest Banks in a few days.  The question is will  Hinds County criminal judges and Burl Cain backstab law enforcement yet again? 


15 comments:

Anonymous said...

He was hanging out at the Pearl Street and State Street light around 8:30 this morning.

Anonymous said...

Do we have a problem with jail space and housing budgets for our jails and prisons? The way the available data is presented, it's hard to tell but with what there is, the inmate numbers are large given our state population. We do want to give priority to keeping the violent offenders off the streets.

Anonymous said...

6 felony convictions, and he is still free to walk the streets instead of spending his remaining years in prison. State Legislature, this is on you. We don't have to live like this. We will never be a high trust society again if we keep career criminals on the streets and out there reproducing.

Anonymous said...

And I worry about keeping my drivers license, vehicle registration and insurance up to date…

Anonymous said...

Always pleadsguilty!? Who’s his damn lawyer?

Anonymous said...

"Three...no...Thirteen strikes, you're out" rule in effect? Who can hold these asinine judges responsible? And we can't rule out prison as being rehabilitating for this idiot because he never gets the chance to change before being released.
Also "sentenced to 7 but 4 suspended" still makes my skin crawl and my eyes roll.

Anonymous said...

The habitual offender statutes exist precisely for people of this kind, but there isn’t much that can be done if your DA won’t use them. It’s just too bad this career criminal doesn’t have a conviction for a violent felony to his discredit. If he did, then he could be sentenced to LWOP.

Anonymous said...

Again, a bartender is legally/civilly liable. Maybe we need to require our Judges be bartenders.

Anonymous said...

The Mississippi parole board continues to prove why they’re incompetent

Anonymous said...

9:24 I'd like someone to point out where in the Mississippi statutes and criminal law that it says sentencing shall be according to how crowded the jails are. When individual crimes are committed, they are handled on a case by case basis. The problem in this case lies with the judge. People love to back away and look at state statistics and say "oh look how many people we have in jail." We don't round up innocent people off the streets and put them in jail. Every individual is there for a reason, and serving a sentence for something they did. If the numbers are high, so be it. We can't follow the law and then because of a statistic start setting them free again.

Anonymous said...

0.45 ACP could solve that problem permanently.

Anonymous said...

This is one to put to AI. I'm non-tech, but I would welcome a chance at what the answer would be if a hip reader could oblige.

Anonymous said...

John Arthur, if you read JJ please try to rob my business and we can put this whole issue to rest.

Anonymous said...

Steve's Deli got broken into about a week ago, which was not long after Banks was released. I am betting he had some role in that break in too.

Anonymous said...

9:36 - You are exactly right. This is on the Legislature for shirking their responsibility to incarcerate ALL to which the law applies. What are they doing with the windfall from the sales tax on Internet purchases? Hard to imagine how much that brings in.


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Trollfest '07 was such a success that Jackson Jambalaya will once again host Trollfest '09. Catch this great event which will leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Othor Cain and his band, The Black Power Structure headline the night while Sonjay Poontang returns for an encore performance. Former Frank Melton bodyguard Marcus Wright makes his premier appearance at Trollfest singing "I'm a Sweet Transvestite" from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Kamikaze will sing his new hit, “How I sold out to da Man.” Robbie Bell again performs: “Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be Bells” and “Any friend of Ed Peters is a friend of mine”. After the show, Ms. Bell will autograph copies of her mug shot photos. In a salute to “Dancing with the Stars”, Ms. Bell and Hinds County District Attorney Robert Smith will dance the Wango Tango.

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If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

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