Banks was booked on second-degree arson and aggravated animal-cruelty counts after a Geneva house fire.

An arrest report and a first appearance are accusations. They are not a conviction. On Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, deputies arrested Banks after a fire at his Geneva home. WESH reported the booking as one count of second-degree arson and 11 counts of aggravated animal cruelty. On Tuesday a judge ordered him held without bond on the arson count pending a mental-health evaluation. That order is custody process. It is not a finding of guilt, and it is not a finding that he is incompetent.

WESH reported that the arrest report says Banks admitted pouring gasoline on the floor in every room, lighting a piece of paper with a lighter, and using that paper to ignite the gasoline. WFTV reported the arrest report places the start of the fire in the kitchen on Monday morning, and that investigators said some dogs were in cages. Those are the charging papers' claims. They are not findings.

The death toll moved as the search went on. WESH reported six dogs were found dead Monday, seven more inside the house on Tuesday, and that two of four dogs taken in by Seminole County Animal Services later died, bringing the total to 15. Banks told deputies 19 dogs had been inside, according to WESH. Two dogs remained in care in Sanford, and emergency manager Alan Harris said one dog was still missing. WFTV reported investigators expected additional animal-cruelty counts may follow. A rising toll and a possible amendment are investigation status. They do not add a conviction.

Banks appeared Tuesday, Sept. 29. WESH reported his attorney, Richard Hornsby, told the court Banks had been in a serious mental health episode and may have been hallucinating. FOX 35 Orlando reported the defense described psychosis, and that prosecutors argued he was a danger to the community and himself. The judge ordered a jail mental-health evaluation, barred him from possessing animals, and withheld bond on the arson count. WESH reported bond of $5,000 on each animal-cruelty count, and an arraignment set for Nov. 10. A lawyer's description of his client's mental state is not a plea. A return date is a calendar entry. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.