MOUNT VERNON – Mark A. Banbury, 35, of Mount Vernon entered pleas in five different felony cases in the Knox County Court of Common Pleas on Friday. According to Knox County Prosecutor Chip McConville, Banbury pleaded guilty to one count of Burglary, two counts of Grand Theft of Firearms and one count of Domestic Violence, all felonies of the third degree. In addition, Banbury entered guilty pleas to two counts of Receiving Stolen Property, two counts of Forgery, one count of Possession of Cocaine, and one count of Possession of Drugs, all felonies of the fifth degree. These crimes, the earliest of which occurred in March of 2014, included thefts of checks, which Mr. Banbury then cashed; an assault on his former wife; possession of drugs during a police search warrant raid of his house in December; and Banbury’s March 2015 burglary of a house on Pleasant Valley Road and the theft of a rifle and a shotgun from that home.
Mark Banbury – Knox County Jail photo
Mr. Banbury waived a presentence investigation and was sentenced by Judge Otho Eyster to a total term of 84 months (7 years) in prison. Banbury will be subject to three years of post-release control following his prison term and was ordered to pay court costs. These cases were investigated by Det. J.T. DeChant and Det. Tim Arnold of the Mount Vernon Police Department, and Det. Tim Light of the Knox County Sheriff’s Office.
Eric Colvin, 33, of Danville, was sentenced for Illegal Assembly or Possession of Chemicals for the Manufacture of Drugs, a felony of the third degree. Colvin was sentenced to 30 months in prison, given a mandatory six month driver license suspension and ordered to pay court costs. Colvin’s conviction was the result of a search warrant raid of his Danville home in October, 2014, where police found evidence of components commonly used in the production of methamphetamine. This case was investigated by Lt. Dan Weckesser of the Danville Police Department.
In other Court activity Friday, a warrant was issued for the arrest of Jeremy A. Morris, 27, for failure to appear for arraignment. Morris is charged with one count of Aggravated Possession of Drugs, a felony of the fifth degree. Bond was set at $10,000. If you have any information on the whereabouts of Jeremy Morris, please contact the Knox County Sheriff’s Office at 740-397-3333.
