Jury convicts man of murder in death of former Gastonia resident

A Wake County jury convicted Justin Fernando Merritt, 26, of first-degree murder in the death of former Gastonia resident Andy Banks.

Merritt's trial began Tuesday and the jury returned its verdict Friday. A judge sentenced Merritt to life in prison without parole.

The 39-year-old Banks was attempting to sell his 2011 silver Range Rover in Raleigh when friends and family members last heard from him around in September 2020.

Police would find the Range Rover in Danville, Virginia, and then soon charge Merritt with first-degree murder.

Banks grew up in Gastonia and graduated from Ashbrook High School. He attended college at N.C. State and remained in Raleigh. His grandfather, the late Dan Gunter, was mayor of Gastonia in the 1960s.

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This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Jury convicts man of murder in death of former Gastonia resident