Opinion ID: 1057701
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: the crime, arrest, and investigation

Text: Kadhem Al-Maily and Hussain Atilebawi immigrated to the United States from Iraq and eventually settled in Memphis, Tennessee. They were acquainted with each other in their home country, and they became close friends in Memphis because neither of their families had accompanied them to the United States. Mr. Al-Maily, who was called Uncle by those who knew him, was widely known and respected among the Iraqi community in Memphis because he had a reputation of helping persons in need and of making everybody happy. [1] When Mr. Atilebawi first moved to Memphis, he worked in a grocery store. Later, he operated a body shop and also ran several other businesses out of his home, including selling used automobiles and men's clothing. After they moved to Memphis, both Mr. Al-Maily and Mr. Atilebawi befriended Devin Banks, who lived near Mr. Atilebawi. Mr. Banks, whose nickname was Boo, was much younger than Mr. Al-Maily and Mr. Atilebawi. Mr. Atilebawi was very generous to Mr. Banks. He would hire Mr. Banks to perform odd jobs, such as constructing a fence around his house. Mr. Atilebawi also sold several used cars to Mr. Banks on very favorable terms. Mr. Banks was welcome in Mr. Atilebawi's home, and he occasionally spent the night at Mr. Atilebawi's house. By September 2002, the relationship between Mr. Banks and Mr. Atilebawi had changed, at least from Mr. Banks's point of view. Mr. Banks was apparently upset about an incident that had occurred one year earlier involving a former girlfriend, [2] and he also believed that Mr. Atilebawi had cheated him out of a large sum of money. [3] On Thursday, September 12, 2002, he told his friend, Michael Hilliard, that he wanted to pay [Mr. Atilebawi] back. Mr. Banks asked Mr. Hilliard to obtain a handgun for him and to assist him in killing Mr. Atilebawi. The two men discussed dumping Mr. Atilebawi's body in the Wolf River to avoid detection. Around 11:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 15, 2002, Mr. Banks drove his white Ford Explorer to Sherry Tomason's house to drop off her son. Ms. Tomason lived near Mr. Banks's brother's house where Mr. Banks was staying. The Explorer had a flat tire, and Ms. Tomason gave Mr. Banks permission to leave the vehicle in her yard. She also offered to give Mr. Banks a ride, but Mr. Banks told her that he was going to see the man who had sold him the vehicle and that this man lived nearby. Ms. Tomason noted that it seemed to be late in the evening to do that, but Mr. Banks was insistent. After leaving Ms. Tomason's house, Mr. Banks met up with Mr. Hilliard, and the two men proceeded to Mr. Atilebawi's house. Mr. Banks was armed with a .22 caliber semi-automatic pistol provided by Mr. Hilliard. They decided that Mr. Banks would arrive at Mr. Atilebawi's house alone and that Mr. Hilliard would wait for a telephone call from Mr. Banks summoning him to Mr. Atilebawi's house. That same evening, Mr. Al-Maily was visiting Mr. Atilebawi. The two men were engaged in conversation and watching television when Mr. Banks arrived at Mr. Atilebawi's front door between midnight and 2:00 a.m. on the morning of September 16, 2002. Mr. Atilebawi welcomed Mr. Banks into his home, and Mr. Banks was surprised when he saw Mr. Al-Maily sitting in Mr. Atilebawi's living room. Mr. Banks and Mr. Atilebawi talked awhile, and their general conversation touched on Mr. Banks's belief that Mr. Atilebawi owed him money and on Mr. Banks's relationship with Ms. Thompson. At some point during the conversation, Mr. Banks asked permission to use Mr. Atilebawi's cordless telephone and stepped outside to call Mr. Hilliard. Mr. Atilebawi thought that Mr. Banks was acting suspiciously. He joined Mr. Banks outside because he wanted to check on the used vehicles that were parked in the front of his house. Mr. Atilebawi walked down his driveway to inspect the vehicles, and, as he turned around to walk back to the house, Mr. Banks shot him with the .22 caliber pistol. After Mr. Atilebawi fell to the driveway, Mr. Banks shot him three more times. Two bullets struck Mr. Atilebawi in the head, one in the shoulder, and one in the leg. Mr. Atilebawi was bleeding profusely, and it became difficult for Mr. Atilebawi to see because his eyes were covered with blood. Mr. Banks tried to drag Mr. Atilebawi's body from the driveway but was unable to move Mr. Atilebawi because he was too heavy. Mr. Banks later confessed, I was scared and didn't want nobody to see him, and I tried to pull him away but he was too heavy for me to move. He left Mr. Atilebawi in the driveway and returned to the house. Despite the blood covering his face, Mr. Atilebawi saw Mr. Banks enter his house. He was also able to faintly see another person with Mr. Banks. This person was Mr. Hilliard who, by that time, had joined Mr. Banks. When Mr. Banks re-entered Mr. Atilebawi's house, he confronted Mr. Al-Maily. Mr. Al-Maily turned over three hundred dollars in cash to Mr. Banks. Mr. Banks then ordered Mr. Al-Maily into Mr. Atilebawi's bedroom and commanded him to lie face down on the floor. Mr. Al-Maily complied. Messrs. Banks and Hilliard then began rummaging through Mr. Atilebawi's bedroom and living room looking for items to steal. Eventually, they decided to steal a red Jeep Cherokee and a Chevrolet Caprice from among the cars in the front yard. They loaded audio speakers and many shirts and hats in their original packaging into the Jeep. Mr. Banks also pocketed several thousand dollars in cash. The cashmostly one hundred dollar bills and possibly in excess of six thousand dollarswas the proceeds from the sale of one of Mr. Atilebawi's used cars. After all the stolen property had been loaded into the Jeep, Mr. Banks re-entered Mr. Atilebawi's house, and walked through the living room and the short hallway to the bedroom where Mr. Al-Maily was still lying face-down on the floor. Mr. Al-Maily had cooperated fully with Mr. Atilebawi during the robbery. He had not interfered or resisted in any way, and he had quickly surrendered all the cash he had with him to Mr. Banks. Nonetheless, Mr. Banks drew his .22 caliber pistol, placed it not more than twenty-four inches from Mr. Al-Maily's head, and shot him behind the right ear. The bullet ricocheted into the left portion of Mr. Al-Maily's brain. The force of the gunshot caused Mr. Al-Maily to vomit reflexively, and Mr. Banks watched the blood and vomit flow from Mr. Al-Maily's mouth. Mr. Banks walked out of the house and returned the pistol to Mr. Hilliard. Messrs. Banks and Hilliard then left the scene, Mr. Banks driving the red Jeep and Mr. Hilliard driving the Chevrolet Caprice. They later abandoned the Caprice at an apartment complex, and Mr. Banks drove Mr. Hilliard home in the red Jeep. Mr. Atilebawi continued to lie bleeding in the driveway where he had fallen after Messrs. Banks and Hilliard entered his house. He did not dare move because he was afraid that he would attract Mr. Banks's attention and that Mr. Banks would shoot him again. Mr. Banks later stated that he thought Mr. Atilebawi was still alive when he left because he heard Mr. Atilebawi call his nickname, Boo. After dropping off Mr. Hilliard, Mr. Banks picked up his brother in the stolen red Jeep and went on an early morning shopping spree with the money he had taken from Mr. Atilebawi. He purchased men's clothing at a nearby K-Mart store, a camera and some hair products at a nearby Walgreens drug store, and some brake pads and an air freshener for the white Ford Explorer at an Auto Zone store. Along the way, Mr. Banks and his brother stopped for breakfast at a Waffle House, and Mr. Banks even picked up an employment application at Walgreens. Mr. Banks brought his brother home at approximately 6:30 a.m. At approximately 7:00 a.m., Mr. Banks drove the red Jeep to Ms. Tomason's house. Before driving Ms. Tomason's son to school, he talked with Ms. Tomason awhile and retrieved a compact disc from his Ford Explorer that was still parked in her front yard. After dropping off Ms. Tomason's son at school, Mr. Banks drove to Maco Tires and Auto Care where he purchased custom rims and new tires for the Jeep for approximately $1,500. Mr. Banks paid cash, and the manager remembered that he pulled out quite a bit of money and ... started peeling off one hundred dollar bills. When the manager put the old rims and tires in the back of the Jeep, he noticed a significant amount of matching shirts and hats in their original packaging. When he asked Mr. Banks about the clothing, Mr. Banks told the manager that he sold clothing and that he had just returned from St. Louis. Mr. Banks sold the manager two sets of matching shirts and hats for ten dollars each. In the meantime, despite multiple gunshot wounds and significant blood loss, Mr. Atilebawi managed to drag himself to the telephone in his house. He was apparently able to press the redial button on the telephone and connect with a friend in Detroit, Michigan. What Mr. Atilebawi told his friend in Detroit is unclear. However, that call prompted Mr. Atilebawi's friend to call some of Mr. Atilebawi's friends in Tennessee, including Mohammed Al-Burkart and Aadel Alkhafaji. Mr. Al-Burkart and his wife drove to Mr. Atilebawi's house and telephoned the police as soon as they saw what had taken place. Officer Steven Jones was the first officer to arrive at Mr. Atilebawi's house at approximately 7:00 a.m. He found Mr. Atilebawi lying in a pool of blood on a sofa in the living room and observed that there was blood all over the living room. Even though Mr. Atilebawi was disoriented and dazed, he told Officer Jones what had happened and identified Boo as the person who had shot him. He described Boo as an African-American male in his late teens or early twenties. Mr. Atilebawi also told Officer Jones that Uncle was in the other room. Officer Jones then discovered Mr. Al-Maily dead in the bedroom. Officer Jones summoned medical assistance, crime scene investigators, and homicide detectives to the scene. The emergency medical responders arrived at Mr. Atilebawi's house a short time later. The officers at the scene began to interview neighbors to learn who Boo was. They learned quickly that Boo was Mr. Banks's nickname and that they should be on the lookout for a red Jeep. Sergeant Mark Miller was in the neighborhood following up on these leads when he saw a Jeep matching the description of the Jeep stolen from Mr. Atilebawi traveling in his direction. [4] When the Jeep made an abrupt turn and headed down another street, Sergeant Miller gave chase and stopped the Jeep. When Sergeant Miller ascertained that Mr. Banks was driving the Jeep, he placed Mr. Banks under arrest at approximately 9:30 a.m. During his search of Mr. Banks and the Jeep, Sergeant Miller found $1,253 in cash (including ten one hundred dollar bills), the stolen clothing and audio speakers, and the receipts for the purchases Mr. Banks had made during the shopping spree with his brother. Mr. Banks did not appear to be injured when he was arrested. He acted in a lackadaisical manner and said nothing at the scene of the arrest. Mr. Banks was transported to the Homicide Office of the Memphis Police Department, and the Jeep was impounded. At 1:42 p.m., Sergeant Miller and Lieutenant Michael Williams advised Mr. Banks of his Miranda rights, and Mr. Banks signed a written waiver of his rights and gave the first of two confessions. In his first confession, Mr. Banks admitted that he was present at Mr. Atilebawi's house when Mr. Atilebawi was shot, but he claimed that a man named Brian Winters had shot Mr. Atilebawi. Mr. Banks confessed that he had stolen the red Jeep, the clothing, and the audio speakers. He also confessed that he had tried to hide Mr. Atilebawi's body. In addition, he stated that he and Mr. Atilebawi had discussed his belief that Mr. Atilebawi owed him money and his belief that Mr. Atilebawi had molested Ms. Thompson in September 2001. Following Mr. Banks's first confession, the authorities arrested Mr. Winters at his house and also recovered a .25 caliber pistol and a .22 caliber pistol that later proved to be the pistol that shot both Messrs. Atilebawi and Al-Maily. Coincidently, Mr. Hilliard was at Mr. Winters's residence when Mr. Winters was arrested, but he was not a person of interest to the authorities at that time. Once in custody, Mr. Winters denied that he had been involved with the shootings or the robbery at Mr. Atilebawi's house and provided the authorities with the names and telephone numbers of several alibi witnesses. On September 17, 2002, while in the process of confirming Mr. Winters's alibi, Sergeant Miller talked with both Mr. Winters's girlfriend and Mr. Hilliard on the telephone. He asked Mr. Hilliard to come down to the police station to give a statement regarding Mr. Winters's whereabouts when the crimes were committed. When Mr. Hilliard stated that he had no means of transportation, Sergeant Miller offered to send a car for him. When Mr. Hilliard arrived at the police station, he gave Sergeant Miller what he believed to be an owner's manual for a Jennings .22 caliber semi-automatic pistol. The same day, after Mr. Banks told the authorities that he wanted to recant portions of the confession he had given to Sergeant Miller and Lieutenant Williams on September 16, 2002, Sergeant James L. Fitzpatrick obtained a second confession from Mr. Banks. Mr. Banks was brought back to the Homicide Office, and Sergeant Fitzpatrick again informed Mr. Banks of his Miranda rights and obtained a signed written waiver of these rights on September 17, 2002, at 4:05 p.m. Mr. Banks then gave a second confession which was reduced to writing. Mr. Banks was given an opportunity to review and to correct his written confession. He made no changes and then initialed each page and signed the confession at 5:06 p.m. In his second confession, Mr. Banks admitted that he had shot Mr. Al-Maily and Mr. Atilebawi with a black .22 or .25 caliber automatic pistol that belonged to Mr. Hilliard. He stated that he obtained the pistol from Mr. Hilliard on Sunday night before he went to Mr. Atilebawi's house. He told Sergeant Fitzpatrick that he shot Mr. Atilebawi in revenge for Mr. Atilebawi's cheating him out of a large sum of money and because of the September 2001 incident involving Ms. Thompson. Mr. Banks admitted that he had explained to Mr. Hilliard three days before the shooting why he wanted the pistol and that at that time they had discussed disposing of Mr. Atilebawi's body in the Wolf River. Mr. Banks provided the details of the crime during his second confession. He admitted arriving at Mr. Atilebawi's house alone early on the morning of September 16, 2002. He stated that he engaged Mr. Atilebawi in conversation and then called Mr. Hilliard to come to Mr. Atilebawi's house. He admitted that he shot Mr. Atilebawi. He admitted robbing Mr. Al-Maily and Mr. Atilebawi and taking more than three thousand dollars in cash, two automobiles, men's clothing, and audio speakers. Finally, he admitted returning to the house and executing Mr. Al-Maily after he and Mr. Hilliard had filled the Jeep with stolen property. The fact that Mr. Banks remained in the area after shooting Messrs. Al-Maily and Atilebawi prompted Sergeant Fitzpatrick to ask Mr. Banks about his shopping spree immediately after he committed the crimes. When Sergeant Fitzpatrick asked him why he had purchased new rims and tires for the Jeep, Mr. Banks stated simply, I figured that I would keep the Jeep. He offered no explanation for picking up the job application at Walgreens. The two head wounds that Mr. Atilebawi received at the hands of Mr. Banks were devastating and serious. Bullet and bone fragments were surgically removed from Mr. Atilebawi's brain, and surgeons were required to remove a portion of Mr. Atilebawi's temporal lobe that controls speech, memory, and personality. As a result of his injuries, Mr. Atilebawi was rendered susceptible to seizures and was left with cognitive problems, which manifest themselves in the form of speech difficulties and memory problems. Mr. Atilebawi was hospitalized for approximately one month. When he returned home, he discovered that property with an estimated value of forty thousand dollars had been stolen, including his furniture, a stereo, and a big screen television.