Jury finds Brooklyn Park man guilty of murder, assault charges
Cortez Banks
A jury has found a Brooklyn Park man guilty of multiple charges following a trial that lasted more than a week.
Court documents show 28-year-old Cortez Banks has been found guilty of three charges: Second-degree murder with intent but not premeditation, second-degree assault and third-degree assault.
He was found not guilty of first-degree assault and first-degree criminal sexual conduct.
While Banks was charged with second-degree murder, the victim did not die. Documents state Banks attempted to cause the death of the victim.
The trial, which began on Feb. 8, ended after a verdict was reached on Feb. 17.
Banks was charged after officials said he stabbed a woman while sexually assaulting her last September in Crystal.
A warrant stated police were called to an apartment along Douglas Drive North, and found a woman with stab wounds on a bed. She was unconscious, and didn’t have a pulse.
After life-saving measures were done, the woman was brought to a hospital, where she went through treatment.
In the apartment, the warrant states an officer found Banks, who they knew from “prior police contacts,” naked. They found a “significant amount” of blood in the bedroom and a knife on the bed.
Banks entered the apartment and went into the victim’s bedroom, according to the warrant. She grabbed her 2-year-old child and ran into a relative’s bedroom — who was present in the room — and locked the door. Banks kicked open the door and “ended up on the bed” with the victim. Banks had sex with her while simultaneously stabbing her with a knife, according to the relative’s witness account.
The witness also suffered minor defensive stab wounds and was released from the hospital after a short stay, according to police.
Banks is scheduled to be sentenced at 3 p.m. on March 7.