Memphis, TN - Joseph Banks, 31, and Lareginald Strong, 31, both of Memphis, TN, were sentenced recently to more than 30 years each in federal prison for their roles in an October 2012 carjacking, announced U.S. Attorney Edward L. Stanton III.
According to facts revealed during their trials and at sentencing, on Oct. 23, 2012, Banks and Strong approached a man at the carport door to his residence. Banks pointed a firearm at the victim’s head as he walked towards him. After Banks attempted to use an electroshock weapon on the victim while Strong served as a lookout, Banks chased the victim and shot at him. Banks grabbed the keys to the victim’s Lexus GS300, and he and his accomplice Strong fled the scene in the car.
Approximately ten minutes after the carjacking was reported, officers with the Memphis Police Department observed the Lexus GS300 driving on Summer Avenue occupied by Banks and Strong. The defendants refused to stop when ordered to do so and a high speed chase began. After wrecking the vehicle, Banks and Strong were taken into custody. Officers removed clothing matching the description of the robbers and two guns from the car.
Both men were convicted by a federal jury on Aug. 1, 2013 and sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Jon P. McCalla. Banks was sentenced to 420 months in federal prison for one count of carjacking, one count of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, and two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Strong was sentenced to 372 months in federal prison for one count of carjacking, one count of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was investigated by the Memphis Police Department and the Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN) Task Force. PSN is composed of representatives from the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office, Memphis Police Department, the Shelby County Sheriff ’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives. The PSN task force meets weekly to examine every gun crime committed in Shelby County as well as gun crimes from other counties submitted by the ATF.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
