Warrant issued for murder suspect

Authorities have issued a warrant for the arrest of 28-year-old Brandon L. Banks in connection with the death of a Cape Girardeau woman whose body was found Tuesday in rural Makanda, Ill.

Banks, whom Jackson County, Ill., Sheriff Robert Burns characterized as "armed and extremely dangerous," is suspected of killing 40-year-old Marsha Ann Brown.

A news release Thursday evening from the Jackson County Sheriff's Department listed Banks' last known address as 716 N. Sprigg St. in Cape Girardeau, where local police helped federal agents execute a search warrant late Wednesday afternoon.

Banks, who is believed to have connections in the Carbondale, Ill., and St. Louis areas, was last seen driving a red 1999 Toyota Solara with Missouri license plate AG8D4F, the release stated.

Darin Hickey, public information officer for the Cape Girardeau Police Department, said Thursday the officers who surrounded the Brent House Apartments on Wednesday were assisting federal agents with a search warrant at the complex.

"We were just there to assist," Hickey said.

An officer at the scene Wednesday told reporters the police activity at the apartment complex was connected to the investigation into Brown's death.

A motorist discovered Brown's body Tuesday morning in a ditch on the south side of Potters Road near U.S. 51 in rural Makanda, Ill.

An autopsy was conducted on Brown's body Wednesday, but by Thursday evening, Jackson County, Ill., Coroner Thomas Kupferer had not released any information about the cause of death.

Kupferer's office referred questions about the case to the Jackson County Sheriff's Department, which did not release any information Thursday about the cause of death.

Online court records show Banks has multiple previous offenses. In 2011, he was placed on five years' supervised probation for unlawful possession of a firearm. He was placed on probation for two years after pleading guilty in January 2010 to driving while his license was revoked, but his probation was revoked less than a year later, and he was sentenced to 120 days in jail.

In June 2007, Banks pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance and was sentenced to two years in the Missouri Department of Corrections, and in September 2006, he pleaded guilty to receiving stolen property worth less than $500.

He was placed on two years of probation in the 2006 case, but his probation later was revoked, and in June 2007, he began a one-year jail sentence.

Authorities did not release any information Thursday about a possible motive in Brown's death.

An obituary from Ford & Sons Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau described Brown as "a loving mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend" who "will be missed by all who knew her."

According to the obituary, Brown, who was born in Chaffee, Mo., had seven children -- two of whom are deceased -- and a granddaughter.

Anyone who encounters Banks or has information about his whereabouts is asked to contact local police or call the Jackson County Sheriff's Department at 618-684-2177.

epriddy@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

Potters Road and U.S. 51, Makanda, IL

716 N. Sprigg St., Cape Girardeau, MO