In the early morning hours of June 6, 2021, a dispute over a game of dice on a downtown Rochester, Minnesota sidewalk tragically escalated, ending the life of 28-year-old Todd Lorne Banks Jr. Banks, a Black male, was shot and killed while another 28-year-old man was critically injured during the altercation. The incident unfolded near a city parking ramp on 1st Avenue Southwest.
An autopsy confirmed that Banks died from multiple gunshot wounds.
A police review of surveillance footage from the area showed a physical altercation breaking out among a group of people who were playing dice. The video captured the moment Derrick T. Days, then 30, of South St. Paul, moved another man out of the way and shot Banks several times.
A Rochester police officer who was nearby witnessed Nautica D. Cox, then 25, of Minneapolis, firing a handgun in the direction of the crowd. The officer pursued Cox, who had run into a nearby alley, and apprehended him. A handgun was recovered in the immediate vicinity. Days was arrested at another location in Rochester later that same morning.
Both men faced serious charges for their involvement in the death of Todd Banks Jr. and the injury of the other man. Derrick Days pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and second-degree assault and was sentenced to over 35 years in prison for being the shooter. Nautica Cox was charged with multiple counts, including aiding and abetting second-degree murder. He ultimately pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting second-degree murder, aiding and abetting second-degree assault, and illegal possession of a firearm. Cox was sentenced to a total of 30 years in prison for his role in the incident.
