Jason Billingsley held without bail in murder of tech CEO Pava LaPere, Baltimore rape and arson
BALTIMORE -- The man accused of killing a young tech CEO in Baltimore days after a brutal attack and arson in West Baltimore was denied bail Friday.
Jason Billingsley, 32, is suspected in the murder of 26-year-old tech CEO Pava LaPere and an arson and rape last week. He was arrested late Wednesday night after a dayslong manhunt.
In a bail hearing Friday, a judge ruled Billingsley is to remain in jail without bail, with no option for home detention.
The judge also ordered Billingsley to get a suicide risk assessment.
On her decision, the judge cited Billingsley's criminal history and is concerned he is a flight risk.
In court, Assistant State's Attorney Robin Wherley said Billingsley admitted to investigators he beat LaPere with a brick and his hands. She went on to describe him as a massive threat, describing the nature of his charges as "extremely disturbing."
Regarding the arson and rape case, Wherley said others could have been hurt or killed.
Billingsley is a convicted felon and registered sex offender who was released last October on parole.
According to court records, Billingsley at 18 pleaded guilty to first-degree assault in 2009.
He was ultimately given two years of supervised probation but violated the terms and was convicted in a second-degree assault case in 2011, where he served a two-year prison sentence.
After being released, Billingsley was convicted of a rape attempt three months later.
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.
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. If that was the law then in 2013 when he was first arrested, then he would not have been eligible for parole," Bates said in response to a question from WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren.
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.
