Sergio Banks, a 28-year-old African-American man, was killed in Houston, Texas, leaving behind a family desperate for answers. His mother, Rosalyn Perry, and uncle, Mark Perry, were left to grapple with the sudden and violent loss of their loved one in a crime that took place just a block from his uncle’s home.
On the evening of December 1, 2015, Sergio was sitting in his vehicle in the 3200 block of Webster in the city’s Third Ward. Around 6:40 p.m., a single gunshot rang out. His uncle, Mark Perry, heard the shot from his nearby home. "When we heard the gunshot, it sounded so close like it was right up on us, which it was," he recalled. Mark and another relative ran to the corner to investigate. First responders found Sergio unresponsive in his car with a gunshot wound to the head.
He was rushed to a local hospital, but he did not survive his injuries.
Houston police detectives investigating the homicide confirmed that Sergio was with a woman at the time of the shooting. According to authorities, the woman fled the scene immediately after he was shot, and investigators began searching for her as a person of interest. Sergio’s family was convinced the woman was involved in his murder. They told reporters that she was known to stay with friends in the neighborhood but had disappeared after the shooting.
In the months that followed, Sergio's family pleaded for help in finding his killer. "I am sick," his mother, Rosalyn Perry, said. "I want her caught and justice served." Fearing the person responsible could harm someone else, she expressed a desperate wish for an arrest. As of February 2016, no arrests had been made, and the case remained unsolved. A reward of $5,000 was offered for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
