A Justice Department employee is accused of putting abortion-inducing drugs into cookies he made for his pregnant girlfriend, according to an arrest warrant affidavit reviewed by The Dallas Morning News.
In mid-October, Justin Banta met the woman, who was six weeks pregnant at the time and not his wife, at a coffee shop in Burleson, Texas. The affidavit states that Banta wanted to talk about the pregnancy. He had previously urged her to end the pregnancy, but she had insisted on keeping the baby.
Security camera footage shows Banta arriving before the woman. He bought two drinks and appeared to add a white powder from a small clear bag into one of the cups. He then stirred the drink, the affidavit says.
The footage also captured Banta bringing a plate of homemade cookies before the woman arrived. During their meeting, the woman drank from the cup but did not eat the cookies. Authorities later collected the cookies and sent them to the FBI for testing. The FBI found that the cookies contained mifepristone and misoprostol, drugs commonly used together to induce abortion.
The woman miscarried a few days later, the affidavit reports.
Banta’s lawyer, Michael Heiskell, denied the allegations in a statement to The Dallas Morning News. He described the affidavit as “a jumbled mix of falsehoods and innuendo” and said Banta was unfairly portrayed as “cold-hearted.”
Banta, 38, faces one count of capital murder and one count of tampering with evidence. The latter charge relates to allegations that he remotely wiped data from his cell phone after giving it to investigators.
The affidavit says Texas Rangers and other investigators contacted several labs to test the woman’s blood, urine, and fetal remains for the abortion drugs. They found no trace of the substances in those samples.
A few days after the meeting, Banta returned to the coffee shop and asked if police had reviewed the security footage. He showed a badge on his hip and claimed to be law enforcement. The affidavit notes Banta previously worked as a prison guard, which may explain the badge.
Currently, Banta works in information technology as a network administration section chief at the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Grand Prairie Office Complex.
The affidavit says the coffee shop employee who dealt with Banta said his behavior did not fully meet the legal definition of impersonating a peace officer.
Investigators also reviewed text messages between Banta and his wife. The messages revealed Banta’s repeated attempts to persuade the pregnant woman to have an abortion.
Besides capital murder, the affidavit states that Banta’s alleged actions may also amount to aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury or assault, mainly because the woman consumed the drugs without knowing.
Banta was arrested Friday and booked into Parker County Jail. He posted bond the same day, jail records show.
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