In the early morning hours of November 3, 2022, a brutal home invasion in Macon, Georgia, claimed the life of 61-year-old Milton Jolly, an African American man. The violent encounter unfolded on Morris Avenue when Deon Banks, then 30 years old, kicked in the door of the residence. Armed with two firearms, Banks held Jolly and three other individuals at gunpoint. The situation escalated when Banks accused Jolly of stealing a gun and demanded payment.
Despite Jolly's promise to pay him in two days, Banks threatened to kill everyone in the house.
The terror inside the home intensified as Banks sexually assaulted a 45-year-old woman, forcing Jolly to witness the act. In a desperate attempt to escape, Milton Jolly fled the house, but Banks pursued him and shot him. After shooting Jolly, Banks returned to the home and fatally shot the other male victim, 41-year-old George Brooks. When law enforcement arrived at the scene, they discovered Jolly in the bushes outside the home and Brooks inside. Both men were transported to a local hospital where they were pronounced dead.
Following a tip, authorities located and arrested Deon Banks later that same day in the parking lot of a gas station on Riverside Drive. He was taken into custody without incident. Upon his arrest, police found a. 380 caliber Hi-Point firearm that matched the shell casings found at the crime scene, along with a. 22 caliber pistol. Banks was charged with a litany of offenses, including two counts of Murder, Rape, Aggravated Sodomy, False Imprisonment, Aggravated Assault, and Possession of a Firearm during the Commission of a Felony.
In August 2025, a jury found Deon Banks guilty on all 15 counts. For his crimes, he received three consecutive life sentences plus an additional five years to be served in prison. The conviction brought a measure of closure to a case that prosecutors described as one of the most heinous in recent memory, ensuring that Banks would spend the remainder of his life behind bars for the violent deaths of Milton Jolly and George Brooks.
