Baltimore officials call for reforms after tech CEO Pava LaPere's alleged killer released early from prison
BALTIMORE -- After an intense, around-the-clock manhunt, Baltimore police, U.S. Marshals and a Prince George's County SWAT team took Jason Billingsley into custody at a train station in Bowie Wednesday evening.
Acting Baltimore police commissioner Richard Worley said officers from multiple departments and federal agencies assisted and the SWAT team was waiting for the fugitive.
"I can say he was cooperative when he was taken into custody because he was surrounded by a SWAT team," Worley said at a Thursday morning news conference.
He told reporters officers were tracking Billingsley using his phone, social media, bank accounts and even learning about his associates through previously recorded jail calls "to put this violent, repeat offender back in jail where he belongs, and let's work together to make sure he stays there."
He said earlier this week that police were less than 300 feet from Billingsley, but he slipped away.
The suspect's mother, Scarlett Billingsley, told WJZ that her son called her after his arrest.
"He got an attitude because I was getting ready to ask him a question, and he said he didn't want to talk about it," Scarlett Billingsley said. "He just hung up."
She also said she was glad the arrest happened without incident.
"One thing I want to say to the public: stop judging him until you find out what the truth is," she said.
Billingsley is now charged with the murder of EcoMap Technologies' CEO Pava LaPere.
A co-worker found the 26-year-old with blunt-force trauma
Her body was discovered on the roof of her apartment building in Mount Vernon on Monday. She both lived and worked at that location.
Charging documents based on surveillance video state she let the suspect into the building after he waved at her from the door while she was in the lobby. They then entered the elevator together.
Police are unsure if they knew each other prior to this.
LaPere's father spoke Wednesday at an emotional vigil, and her family released the following statement on the arrest:
"We appreciate the tireless efforts of the Baltimore Police Department, and their law enforcement partners, throughout the course of this investigation and apprehension of the suspect. We're relieved to know he can no longer hurt other innocent victims. While this doesn't change that Baltimore lost one of its most passionate, influential fans, our efforts remain focused on remembering and celebrating Pava Marie – her life, successes, and legacy." |
Billingsley is also charged with a rape and arson that happened in the 800 block of Edmondson Avenue on Sept. 19.
Police said he knew the victims in that case and identified himself as building maintenance. Charging documents reveal that he tied up his victims before dousing liquid on them and setting them on fire.
They believe LaPere was killed on Friday, Sept. 22, but her body was not found until Sept. 25—three days later.
The acting commissioner and mayor defended their decision to not immediately notify the public that Billingsley was connected to both incidents.
"Hindsight is always 20/20. If we had known he was going to go and kill someone, we would've put the flyer out, but we had no indication that he was committing random acts," Worley said.
He later added, "If we made a mistake, I would tell you we made a mistake like I did in Brooklyn. I don't think we made a mistake in this case. I think our detectives made the same decision we make every single time based on the facts and circumstances that we have, and as soon as we realized he committed an act that seemed to be random…we put the flyer out, and just as we thought he tried to elude capture and turn off all of the devices that we were able to track him on."
Mayor Brandon Scott said the criticism of police is misplaced.
"They didn't decide to let this sociopath back out on the streets of Baltimore," Scott said at the same news conference.
Billingsley had been released from prison one year ago after serving time for a sexual assault.
He was sentenced to 30 years for that crime, but a plea deal—which the judge reluctantly accepted—suspended all but 14 years.
He was then given "good time credits" that mandated his release after only nine years.
"Rapists shouldn't be let out early. Period," Scott said.
Baltimore City state's attorney Ivan Bates called the early release and plea deal a "systematic failure" of the justice system.
"Maybe the legislature could look at first-degree sex offense or first-degree rape and are these individuals still going to be eligible for diminution credits," Bates said in response to a question from WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren. "If that was the law then in 2013 when he was first arrested, then he would not have been eligible for parole."
Bates will now ask that Billingsley serve life without parole "so this individual does not get out to see the light of day."
Police are still reviewing other unsolved cases since Billingsley's release last year to see whether he may have been involved in more crimes.
He is facing 30 separate charges for the Edmondson Avenue attack and the killing of LaPere.
"What the residents of Baltimore should be doing is questioning why he was let out and how that happened, and that's not on the police department," Scott said.
