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College athlete from Jacksonville wrongfully arrested for armed robbery

A college athlete from Jacksonville was wrongfully arrested when he came home to visit family in May.

“It's crazy that all your freedoms can just be taken away out of nowhere,” Eric Banks told Action News Jax.

Banks, a former star basketball player for Sandalwood High School, was arrested May 12 for an armed robbery Jan. 19 in Jacksonville.

Banks said he was away at school in North Carolina on Jan. 19.

“We had evidence that he was not even in the state of Florida when it happened,” his mother Claire Banks said.

A letter from Banks’ basketball coach at Shaw University stated Banks was at practice Jan. 19 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Raleigh is six and a half hours from Jacksonville.

Still, Banks spent three nights in jail.

“He had never been behind bars,” Claire Banks said. “That was Mother's day. I had to go on Mother's Day that Sunday and visit my son in jail. I’m on the one side of the glass talking to him on this filthy phone. Happy Mother's Day to me.”

The charges were dropped, but Banks’ family is still trying to get the arrest off his record.

"Even if they get it expunged, it's going to follow (Banks) the rest of his life,” Action News Jax Law and Safety expert Dale Carson said. “It's a felony arrest. It's in NCIC, which is the federal database. It's never going anywhere.”

Action News Jax asked the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the State Attorney’s Office for comment Monday.

JSO sent a statement:

Thank you for your email, outlining Mrs. Banks' concerns. We will look into the matter, and will fully investigate any complaint received."

The State Attorney's Office also sent a statement:

I've pulled the file and just gave it to [State Attorney Melissa] Nelson and others to review, too.  They're going to need a little time before providing any interview/comment."