Jeffrey Clem said he didn’t mean to kill Willie Banks in his home more than a year ago, but he still pleaded guilty to murder Thursday afternoon.
Clem, 52, of 117 Linden Ave. Apt. 1, entered his pleas to murder and tampering with physical evidence in Clark Circuit Court. Prosecutors offered the minimum sentences of 20 years and one year, respectively, which would be served concurrently. Clem could have received up to a life sentence for murder.
“We got into an argument and I shot and killed him,” Clem told Clark Circuit Judge William Clouse. “I didn’t mean to.”
A family member discovered Banks’ body in the bathroom of his mobile home at 205 Sterling St. on Aug. 18, 2010. Police said Banks, 57, was already dead when they arrived. Three .22 caliber shell casings were found near the body, police said. An autopsy determined that Banks was shot three times, twice in the face and once in the back of the head.
The three casings matched one that officers found in Clem’s truck while they executed a search warrant that day. Surveillance video from a nearby business also showed that Clem’s truck was parked at Banks’ home from 11:40 p.m. Aug. 17 to 12:14 a.m. Aug. 18, police said. Clem told police a number of different stories which ranged from not even being at the scene to entering and finding Banks already dead. In another statement, Clem said that Banks pulled a gun and it discharged as they struggled over the gun.
The weapon and ammunition were recovered from Clem’s sister’s home in Powell County.
Neither Clem nor his attorney William Elkins made any other statements in court Thursday.
Clem is scheduled to be sentenced March 8. Until then, he remains in the Clark County Detention Center.
Contact Fred Petke at fpetke@winchestersun.com.
