Probe of 'suspicious man with gun' leads to arrest in abduction, say police

Officers responding to a 911 call reporting a man with a gun arrested a 25-year-old Farmingdale man Sunday, linking him to an earlier abduction of a 30-year-old woman.

Nassau County police said Jovan A. Banks, of 7 Woodward Pkwy., was arrested following a brief foot chase. He was charged with three counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, first-degree criminal use of a firearm and second-degree kidnapping.

Banks is scheduled for arraignment Monday in First District Court in Hempstead.

Police said Second Precinct officers were called to a Dollar Tree store on Fulton Street in Farmingdale just before 6:30 p.m. after a caller reported "a suspicious man with a gun."

Those officers, in conjunction with Bureau of Special Operations officers, located Banks near a Dunkin' Donuts, but he fled as they approached, police said.

He was arrested following a brief pursuit on foot.

A black handgun and a knife were recovered, police said.

Police said the subsequent investigation determined Banks earlier had earlier abducted a 30-year-old woman at gunpoint from a residence in Farmingdale.

Police said the woman was released unharmed. Police declined to provide details, saying the incident was domestic.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”