After guilty plea to manslaughter and other crimes, alleged gang member ‘Lil Ghost’ sentenced to 19 years 

Donald Bannister, a 20-year-old suspected gang member from Marietta, has pleaded guilty to various crimes in three separate cases in Cobb County.

Bannister, 20, pleaded guilty to a variety of crimes in three separate cases including one count of voluntary manslaughter, and will spend the next 19 years in prison, according to state officials.

Known to police by the alias, “Lil Ghost,” Bannister’s most serious charge was for voluntary manslaughter, resulting from the killing of 30-year-old Norval Bailey in June 2021.

Bannister’s other cases involved the armed robbery of two teenage victims in January 2019 and the assault of a fellow inmate at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center in September 2020.

According to Attorney General Chris Carr, Bannister is a suspected member of the 2Solid street gang, which has ties to the Bloods. Bannister told the court he had been a member of 2Solid since he was 15, the attorney general said. He was sentenced to 19 years in prison followed by 11 years on probation.

In addition to the manslaughter charge, Bannister pleaded guilty to the armed robbery of two teenage victims during a drug deal at a Marietta hotel in January 2019.

Despite being only 15 at the time, he pistol-whipped one victim and shot the other. After being transferred from Juvenile to Superior Court, Bannister faced charges related to assaulting a fellow inmate at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center in September 2020.

Despite being granted bond in February 2021, Bannister remained involved in criminal activities. About four months later, he shot Norval Bailey twice during a drug deal gone wrong, leading to Bailey’s death. After evading authorities for over a year, Bannister was arrested in August 2022 by the U.S. Marshals Service in East Point.

Bannister’s series of crimes were part of a pattern of violence and criminal behavior. His maximum possible release date is July 17, 2038, according to prison records.

Bannister is currently incarcerated in the Cobb jail, with the Georgia Department of Corrections overseeing his imprisonment.