Glen Burnie Man Sentenced To Life In Murder Of Former Federal Police Officer
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) -- A Glen Burnie man has been sentenced to life plus 45 years in a retrial in the 2006 murder of a former federal protective services officer, authorities said Monday.
In October 2021 William McDonald, 41, was found guilty of first-degree felony murder, two counts of armed robbery and multiple firearms charges in the shooting death of Benjamin Curtis, according to the Anne Arundel County State's Attorney's Office.
McDonald was previously convicted of Curtis' murder in 2018, but that conviction was later thrown out.
"Justice for the family and friends of Mr. Curtis was a long time coming," State's Attorney Anne Colt Leitess said. "Initially, this was a cold case for many years and then once it was charged, had a number of challenges including a mistrial, and later being overturned on appeal due to a procedural error. The case was retried last year and a jury found the defendant guilty of all charges."
Curtis was fatally shot Aug. 12, 2006, inside his SUV while it was parked behind an Odenton bar.
Authorities said Curtis and a female passenger had been sitting in the vehicle when they were robbed at gunpoint. Curtis fought back when his passenger was ordered to undress, a struggle ensued and McDonald shot him in the head.
Afterward, the female passenger escaped and ran for help. When police arrived, Curtis was alive but unresponsive. He was rushed to a hospital, but he did not survive.
The next month, police recovered a .40-caliber handgun from a New Jersey traffic stop. Ballistic tests later matched the weapon to shell casings taken from Curtis' SUV.
Interviews with the woman the gun was confiscated from, along with her boyfriend, led detectives to McDonald, who was arrested and tried for Curtis' murder.
A jury found McDonald guilty in 2018, but an appeals court declared a mistrial after finding that the jury was shown evidence it shouldn't have seen, The Capital reports.
