A former Bowling Green man is in jail after violating the conditions of the community control sanctions placed on him after he pleaded guilty to rioting.
Quentin Banks Jr., 22, Toledo, appeared Monday for a community control violation hearing in the courtroom of Wood County Common Pleas Judge Molly Mack.
In April 2022, Mack sentenced Banks to two years on community control after he pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault and aggravated riot.
Banks and his five co-defendants assaulted a man on the sidewalk in the 100 block of North Main Street on July 11, 2021. According to court documents, they punched him and knocked him to the ground. Once on the ground, they continued to punch, kick and stomp the man to the point of unconsciousness.
During the riot, a group of four good Samaritans rushed to attempt to get the assailants off the man on the ground and they were assaulted, according to the indictment. A man sustained serious injuries after being slammed on his head on the sidewalk and was punched and kicked. This man was taken to Wood County Hospital with cracked and broken teeth, a jaw injury, bruised ribs and gashes to his face and body, according to court documents.
The rioters also reportedly chased and assaulted another man in the middle of the street, punching him, slamming him to the ground and kicking him.
According to court documents, the assault only stopped after a police officer was flagged down. The assailants fled but were identified by the video taken by downtown cameras and through prior police interaction earlier in the night.
Banks was sentenced to the SEARCH program at the NorthWest Community Corrections Center.
In August 2022, he was released from SEARCH. As part of his sanctions, it was recommended he attend three AA meetings a week. As of May, he has consistently failed to follow that recommendation despite repeated efforts including encouragement by his mother, according to court documents.
Defense attorney Sara Roller admitted in court Monday that her client had not completed the requisite number of AA meetings.
She said Banks successfully completed SEARCH and has had no negative drug or alcohol screens since. He has been law abiding since the incident in 2021, she added.
“Overall, Mr. Banks has complied with his community control sanctions” except for attending AA meeting, Roller said.
Part of the issue is no transportation to a meeting location, she said, and asked the court to continue her client on community control minus the requirement he attend AA meetings.
“He’s doing OK without those meetings,” Roller said.
She admitted defendants can’t pick and choose what they’re going to comply with, but this is a very small portion of the sentence.
Wood County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Pamela Gross said the state and probation department were asking for one of two things: Either return Banks to SEARCH or incarcerate him.
She said a similar violation was filed in February.
Mack debunked the lack of transportation excuse, stating AA meetings are held all over.
She said as of Monday, Banks had attended 15 meetings when he should have attended at least 57.
“You can’t pick and choose what areas of probation you decide to follow,” Mack said.
She extended Banks’ community control sentence by one year with the same terms and conditions.
She also imposed 90 days in jail.
Mack warned she could revoke Banks community control and send him to prison for 4.5 years.
If he returns to her courtroom, “bring your toothbrush because there are no other options the court has,” she said.
