ROCHESTER, Minn. — The two men charged in the fatal shooting of a 28-year-old Rochester man were ordered held on $2 million unconditional bail Tuesday, June 8.
Todd Lorne Banks Jr., 28, was killed in the shooting. A candlelight vigil was held Monday evening in downtown Rochester in his honor. The vigil was livestreamed on the Barbershop Talk-South Minnesota Facebook page .
Derrick Timothy Days, 28, of South St. Paul, Minn., is charged in Olmsted County with second-degree murder, second-degree murder without intent-while committing a felony, second-degree murder-with intent-not premeditated and possession of ammunition/any firearm-conviction or adjudicated delinquent for a crime of violence. All four are felony charges.
Days was released from prison in December 2020 after serving a federal prison sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm or ammunition. He is on supervised release on that charge until December 2023. He was previously ineligible to own a firearm following a 2015 conviction out of Ramsey County for second-degree burglary.
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Unconditional bail was set by Judge Debra Jacobson at $2 million for Days. No conditional bail was set.
Prosecutor Michael Walters argued for the amount, citing a number of concerns, including that Days would be a flight risk and that Days is accused of destroying evidence. The gun that is alleged to have been used in Sunday's shooting has not been found by police.
Days' attorney, Megan Elkin, argued that a conditional bail should be set in the case. She argued that while Days doesn't live in Rochester, that doesn't mean he doesn't have ties to the area. She also noted that Days was already on federal supervision, and he has "a lot to lose" and "a lot of eyes on him."
His next court appearance is scheduled for June 22.
Nautica Delshaun Cox, 22, of Robbinsdale, Minn., is charged in Olmsted County District Court with aiding and abetting second-degree murder-with intent-not premeditated, aiding and abetting second-degree murder without intent-while committing a felony, aiding and abetting second-degree attempted murder-with intent-not premeditated, and possession of ammunition/any firearm-conviction or adjudicated delinquent for a crime of violence. All four are felony charges.
Cox was on probation at the time of the incident following a September 2020 felony conviction in Ramsey County of being ineligible to own a firearm. He is ineligible to own a firearm or possess any ammunition as a result of 2018 convictions in Hennepin County for fourth-degree felony assault and first-degree aggravated robbery.
Arguing for the $2 million unconditional bail and no conditional bail, Walters said a police officer who witnessed Sunday's shooting said Cox looked at him and then continued shooting before attempting to flee.
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Cox's attorney Krista Rissman argued for a lower unconditional bail and for conditional bail. She said Cox was not a flight risk and noted that no warrants have been issued for him in the last three years, during which time he had active cases.
Officers found Banks bleeding from apparent gunshot wounds and unresponsive. Life-saving efforts were attempted on scene and Banks was loaded into an ambulance. He was pronounced dead at 2:56 a.m. Sunday, June 6. He had at least five entrance wounds, according to court documents.
A second man, also 28 years old, was found on the south side of Third Street Southwest, approximately halfway between Broadway Avenue South and First Avenue. He had visible gunshot wounds to his left hip, right upper arm, chest and back. He was taken to Mayo Clinic Hospital-Saint Marys.
Officers found more than 10 shell casings in the area of the shooting.
A Rochester police officer was in the area at the time of the shooting. The officer saw a handgun in Cox's hand and "shooting towards people" at the southwest corner of the intersection of First Avenue and Third Street Southwest, the criminal complaint states.
A handgun was found behind a trash receptacle where the officer observed Cox reach out his arm.
Surveillance footage also captured the incident and the moments leading up to it. Police said a fight broke out at a dice game between Banks and another individual. Banks and the man “began to fight, wrestle and they went to the ground,” the complaint reads. During the fight, the 28-year-old man pushed Days while Days was attempting to push those involved in the fight.
“On the surveillance video, Days can be seen taking out a handgun and firing at (the 28-year-old man) from close range while both men were standing,” the complaint states.
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Cox, who had not been in the fracas, approached the intersection and appeared to fire one or more rounds at the 28-year-old man as he was running away.
Days allegedly approached Banks while he was still fighting on the ground with the other man and fired “one or more rounds” at Banks while Banks was on the pavement. Cox is alleged to have fired at least a round at Banks after Days had already shot Banks.
Cox was arrested on scene. Days was arrested about two hours later at a southeast Rochester apartment complex. A Rochester police investigator reportedly recognized Days from a previous incident and knew he was associated with a man who lived at that complex. A review of the building's surveillance footage reportedly showed Days entering the apartment shortly after the incident.
At the time of his arrest, Days denied being in any fight or seeing a shooting and said he was at a bar and then walked to his car and left.
