On a late Saturday night in September 2021, the life of 35-year-old Shawn K. Terry II was tragically cut short inside a room at the Red Carpet Inn on Northern Boulevard in Albany, New York. At approximately 11:40 p.m. on September 18th, Terry was shot in the chest and pronounced dead at the scene. His death marked the city's 14th homicide of the year.
Terry, a former championship wrestler at Averill Park High School, had faced significant personal struggles throughout his life.
A pivotal and traumatic event occurred in his teenage years when he witnessed the death of his best friend in a car accident, an incident that his family said had a lasting emotional impact on him. Despite these challenges, his family remembered him as someone who was trying to build a better life for himself.
The investigation into Terry's murder led to the arrest of Serieon Bankston, then 26 years old. In November 2021, Bankston was indicted on charges of second-degree murder and weapon possession, to which he initially pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors alleged that Bankston was the individual who shot Terry inside the motel room.
Ultimately, Bankston accepted a plea deal. On June 30, 2022, he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of first-degree manslaughter. This plea was offered by the prosecution due to 'serious proof issues' that could have arisen had the case gone to trial. In August 2022, Serieon Bankston was sentenced to 19 years in prison for the killing of Shawn Terry and for an unrelated assault on an elderly man. During the sentencing, Terry's family expressed their profound grief and criticized the sentence as being too lenient. Bankston, in a statement to the court, expressed remorse for his actions.
