Demetrius Banks Guilty in 5 Knifepoint Attacks Near DC Metro

Demetrius Banks, a 32-year-old from Riverdale, Md., has been convicted of 23 felony counts tied to a string of violent knifepoint assaults on women walking home near Washington, D.C. Metro stations. The attacks, which unfolded between July 28 and August 28, 2015, targeted five women — two of whom were raped — in a reign of terror that left a community on edge and law enforcement scrambling to identify the predator.

After a four-week trial in Superior Court, Banks was found guilty of three counts of first-degree sexual abuse while armed with aggravating circumstances, one count of attempted first-degree sexual abuse with aggravating circumstances, and one count of third-degree sexual abuse with aggravating circumstances. He was also convicted on five counts of robbery while armed, four counts each of kidnapping while armed and assault with a dangerous weapon, four counts of threats, and one count of credit card fraud. Sentencing is set for January 27, 2017, before Judge José M. Lopez. Banks remains in custody.

The first attack occurred on July 28, 2015, when Banks ambushed a 21-year-old cashier in the 100 block of Riggs Road NE, just after she exited the Fort Totten Metro station at around 10:30 p.m. He grabbed her from behind, pressed a knife to her side, threatened to kill her, and dragged her into a dark driveway behind a school. There, he raped and robbed her. She was later taken to Washington Hospital Center, where forensic evidence was collected.

On July 31, a 26-year-old bartender was attacked in the 800 block of Gallatin Street NE. Banks pretended to exit a house, then snatched her from behind, forced her into a dark alley with a knife, and robbed her. Days later, on August 4, another 26-year-old woman — a government employee — was seized in the same block as the first victim, again at knifepoint. Banks began dragging her by the hair into a wooded area before a passerby intervened, forcing Banks to flee with only her purse.

Two more assaults followed. On August 23, a 41-year-old server was approached in the 600 block of Gallatin Street NE and robbed at knifepoint as she walked home from Fort Totten Metro. Then, on August 28, Banks struck again — this time near the Brookland Metro station — attacking a 22-year-old waitress. He pretended to enter a home, then grabbed her, forced her into a driveway at knifepoint, and raped and robbed her. She escaped naked into the street, where patrol officers found her moments later. She, too, was taken to Washington Hospital Center for a sexual assault examination.

Investigators from the Metropolitan Police Department linked Banks to the crimes through surveillance footage showing him using the fifth victim’s credit card shortly after her assault. U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips and Interim MPD Chief Peter Newsham announced the conviction, emphasizing the coordinated effort to bring a violent predator to justice. The case underscores the vulnerability of women walking alone at night — and the terror one man inflicted on the fringes of the nation’s capital.

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