English
Update: 3 Suspects Charged In 2021 Murder of Kavon Banks
Date Added: April 26, 2022 1:15 pm
Andrew Gant
Office of Public Affairs & Media Relations
June 20, 2021
DEATH INVESTIGATION UNDERWAY AFTER BODY DISCOVERED ALONG STATE ROAD 415
Sheriff's detectives are investigating after a motorist discovered a person's body along the side of State Road 415 west of New Smyrna Beach this afternoon.
The motorist reported the body shortly before 2:30 p.m. The location was off the side of SR 415 near Lake Ashby Road.
The deceased is an adult male. The investigation into his death is active and ongoing, and additional information will be released as it becomes available.
*Update: Monday, 6/21*
The deceased has been identified as Kavon Jamal Banks, 35 (DOB 11/18/1985), of Deltona. The investigation into his death remains active and ongoing, and further details will be provided as soon as the investigation allows.
*Update: Wednesday, 6/23*
A suspect in the homicide of Kavon Banks has been taken into custody in Palatka and is being held without bond at the Putnam County Jail. Toriano Brooks, 29 (DOB 12/7/1991), of Palatka, was booked at the jail early this morning on charges of 2nd degree murder with a firearm and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The homicide investigation remains active and ongoing, and additional details on the case will be released in a future update as the investigation allows.
*Update: April 26, 2022*
A third suspect involved in the June 2021 murder of Kavon Banks has been indicted by a grand jury.
Isaiah Devonta Moore, 23 (DOB 11/12/1998), of Crestview, was indicted Monday on one count of second-degree murder.
Moore has been in custody in Okaloosa County since September 2021, when he fled from Okaloosa deputies and rammed a patrol car and was charged with aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, fleeing law enforcement, possession of fentanyl, driving without a valid license, and violation of probation.
The first defendant arrested in this case was Toriano Brooks (DOB 12/7/1991), who was taken into custody in Putnam County on June 23, 2021, 3 days after Banks’ body was found along State Road 415 west of New Smyrna Beach. Banks had been shot multiple times and left off the side of the road. Brooks was charged with 2nd degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
A second defendant, Montrez Hamilton (DOB 9/9/1993), was charged with accessory to 2nd degree murder in August 2021, while already back in state prison on unrelated charges.
Detectives determined all three defendants were riding in a vehicle with the victim when both Brooks and Moore shot him. The group then dumped Banks’ body along S.R. 415.
Brooks and Hamilton both remain in custody at the Volusia County Branch Jail while Moore is still being held in Okaloosa County.