LOUISA COUNTY, Va. (WTVR) – A 36-year-old man has been convicted in an 18-year-old cold case mystery.
Brandon Fields, of Louisa, was found guilty Wednesday for failing to stop at the scene of an accident back in February of 1994, according to Louisa Commonwealth’s Attorney Rusty McGuire.
Officials said James Banks Jr. was found dead from a head injury after a hit-and-run on Route 22 in Louisa on Feb. 18, 1994.
Banks' family spent 17 years wondering what happened to their father on that fateful night. He was buried in an unmarked grave.
However, Virginia State Trooper Richard Shively's work on the cold case in 2010, led to a tip about Fields.
Shively talked to Fields, who said he was on his way to buy some speakers when he came over a hill on 22 and tried to avoid something in the road. Fields told Shively that he did go back – but had never talked about what he saw – or what happened since the accident.
In court, Fields apologized to Banks' family.
Fields was sentenced to a year in jail and paid $6,000 to cover Banks' funeral expenses and a tombstone. He also said he would put flowers on Banks' grave on the anniversary of his death for the rest of his life.
