Black Baltimore Teen Found Dead Inside a Hole In a Wall was Model Student, Played Violin

The 15-year-old stepson of officer Eric G. Banks Jr, Dasan Jones, also known as D.J., was a magnet student at Glen Burnie High School who played the violin.

As BLACK ENTERPRISE previously reported, Banks allegedly moved D.J.’s dead body before fellow responding Baltimore police officers found the teen’s corpse inside a hole containing a gun safe in a bedroom wall.

Now the Capital Gazette reported that D.J. was a model student who former classmates and his principal are saying impacted them.

Former Solley Elementary School and George Fox Middle School classmate Erika DiDonato said D.J was someone who was reliable and helped others with their school work. And he was the jokester among friends.

“If you needed help with an assignment or something, he would always be willing to help out. When he would come into class, I remember he would always be smiling and coming over to me and the friends I sat with and making jokes,” DiDonato said.

Principal Scott McGuire sent out a letter to families explaining to them what happened to D.J., which is still being investigated by the police, according to The Gazette.

According to McGuire’s letter, D.J. was a quiet yet socially active sophomore student who was looking forward to continue his studies after successfully completing Glen Burnie’s BioMedical Allied Health program, a program that typically enables juniors and seniors to gain real world experience in the medical field and college credit toward a degree, a certificate, or a letter of recognition from Anne Arundel Community College with their dual enrollment, according to the website.

“He was articulate, proactive, and responsible. He took great pride in his academics and enjoyed being in the BMAH program,” the letter said.

The letter mentions that he was a violin player and once played for the All-County Orchestra while in the eighth grade.

A former classmate named Kayla Wright set up a GoFundMe page to help Latrice Banks, D.J.’s mother, pay for funeral expense and to fundraise money for additional support.

As BLACK ENTERPRISE previously reported, Latrice wanted an order of protection against her estranged husband who she accuses of stalking and intimidating her. Her request, to have Eric to stay away from her and her children, including D.J. and two other minor children they shared, got denied.