“This individual will kill and he will rape. He will do anything he can to cause harm. So please be aware of your surroundings” – Baltimore Acting Police Commissioner Richard Worley
“There’s no way in hell he should have been out on the street” – Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott
Note: All of these charges were prosecuted in the Baltimore City Circuit Court system. The public records do not show what his original charges were. They only show what he pleaded guilty to.
Jason Billingsley was allowed to continue committing violent crimes over and over because of a combination of wrist-slap sentencing deals and Maryland’s mandatory early-release laws.
Round #1:
Charged with one or more violent felonies on 09/16/2009.
Given a plea bargain for first-degree assault. On 12/3/2009, he is sentenced to four years and nine months. Judge suspends two years.
Round #2:
Charged with one or more violent felonies occurring on 9/4/2010. (One year after being sentenced to four years and nine months.)
Given a plea bargain for second-degree assault. On 6/22/2011, he was sentenced to two years. On 7/21/2011, he was sentenced to three years for violating his probation relating to his previous early release.
Round #3:
Charged with one or more violent felonies occurring on 6/23/2013. (Two years after being sentenced to five years.)
Given a plea bargain for 1st Degree Sex Offense. On 2/4/2015, he was sentenced to thirty years, with one year of credit for pre-trial detention. Judge suspends sixteen years.
In 2020 and 2022, the parole board denied him parole. In October of 2022, the state of Maryland ordered his mandatory early release on “diminution credits.”
Round #4:
Wanted for the brutal murder of Pava Marie LaPere, who was found beaten to death with her clothes partially removed. He is also accused of raping a woman and trying to burn three people alive one week before killing LaPere. Two of the victims were severely burned and barely survived. These attacks occurred twenty-one years before his original thirty-year sentence was supposed to be done.
