Sounak Sengupta
Investigation Discovery’s ‘The Murder Tapes: Club Chaos’ depicts how 25-year-old Anthony Bankston was an unfortunate murder victim during an after-night party in Lima, Ohio, in late December 2018. The police interviewed multiple witnesses and accessed hours of surveillance footage to capture the perpetrator within days of the crime.
How Did Anthony Bankston Die?
Anthony Marquise Bankston was born to John Lamont Manley and Nicole Charisse Bankston in Lima in Allen County, Ohio, on November 28, 1993. A member of Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church, Anthony was a cheerful and kind person who cared for others a lot. His brother, Le-Andre Ramsey, reminisced how Anthony could light up a room with his smile by entering and mingling with others. He painted Anthony as the entrepreneurial sort who had started investing in real estate weeks before his unfortunate death.
Hence, it came as a shock when Anthony and three other men were shot at a club at 904 S. Main St. in Lima, Ohio, in the early morning hours of December 29, 2018. The other three men received non-life-threatening injuries. However, Anthony had been shot multiple times, and the officers found a .40-caliber firearm with the slide locked back on it beside the body. There were shell casings all over the place. There were bullet casings lying inside and outside the bar matching the weapon. The detectives also found several shell casings that were not .40-caliber ammunition.
Who Killed Anthony Bankston?
When there are multiple shell casings found at the crime scene, law enforcement officials are usually in a dilemma whether the victim was the intended target or two people randomly firing at each other. Due to the late-night club being overcrowded, there was chaos at the scene, with the officers having to detain and force people outside of the perimeter to preserve evidence. The police interviewed several witnesses at the scene to learn they had seen a black Charger with a dealership license plate driving away after firing the fatal shots.
The police brought in the woman managing the club entrance for the interview. She claimed she did not know much except that the shooting happened when the party was almost over, with the hostess already having left the place. However, she confirmed the alleged perpetrator used a black Charger for their getaway after the shooting. The detectives learned her niece was attending the after-party when the shootout happened and discovered the young woman was already in custody for unruly conduct at the crime scene.
The niece was intoxicated and hysteric when the officers brought her in for the interview. She told the officers she was concerned about her uncle, who was a victim of the shootout. The detectives called the hospital as a courtesy and informed her that her uncle was fine with a bullet just grazing his leg. Relieved, the niece told the investigators she did not know much except for seeing commotion after hearing gunshots. She also alleged her uncle gave her a small plastic packet as a keepsake, which she lost in the ensuing chaos.
The uncle was brought in for an interview the following day, and he declined to know anything about the plastic packet (thought to be some drug). However, he and one of Anthony’s aunts, Necole Brownlow, stated they saw a familiar face named George at the front end of the club where the shootout happened. George was initially under suspicion because he was involved in a brawl the previous Thanksgiving with Anthony. George confirmed the allegation but claimed he had no role to play in the shootout and pointed fingers at Rasheign Tisdale.
George told the officers he saw an African-American male enter through the front door and started shooting. He claimed he saw Rasheign respond to the shooting by pulling out his gun. Law enforcement officials were familiar with the name Rasheign, who had a prior criminal record, and tracked him down. They brought him in for questioning, and he kept denying knowing anything about the firing. However, the investigators had enough evidence to place him at the scene with a weapon in hand, and he eventually relented.
Rasheign told the officers he played no part in shooting Anthony or the other victims, putting the blame on Jemonte McNeal — another well-known face to law enforcement. They tracked him down to Columbus, Ohio, and local police arrested him and handed him over to Lima Police Department. The detectives went through hours of surveillance footage obtained from several CCTVs scattered in and around the club to find Jemonte in a nearby convenience store, buying alcohol, just minutes before the shootout happened.
He was seen in the same clothes, including a dark hoodie, that several witnesses reported seeing the perpetrator wearing. Jemonte refused to cooperate with the authorities and claimed he was doing illicit drugs in Chicago when the shootout happened. However, the police exposed his lie when they showed him the store’s CCTV footage bearing a time stamp and location that placed him in the vicinity of the crime scene. Jemonte completely clammed up and declined to confess to the crime.
Jemonte McNeal is Serving His Sentence Today
Even though Jemonte McNeal refused to confess, the authorities had enough evidence to prosecute him for the shootout. He was originally charged with two murder charges and a felonious assault charge all with firearm specs. According to court records, Anthony had a prior altercation with Jemonte’s family member, leading to the latter fatally shooting Anthony.
Jemonte agreed to a plea agreement and pleaded guilty to an amended charge of involuntary manslaughter and a charge of tampering with evidence by way of a bill of information. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison in March 2020. Holding back tears, Necole Brownlow said, “I was standing there when he got shot, and the impact it had for me. I never wished in a million years that I would ever have to witness something like that.”
According to official court records, the 28-year-old is serving his sentence at the Lebanon Correctional Institution. Rasheign Tisdale was also sentenced to prison for four years after pleading guilty to discharging a firearm on or near prohibited premises and carrying a concealed weapon.
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