Posted on 09/27/2023 8:49:24 AM PDT by Red Badger
Pava LaPere, the founder of EcoMap Technologies, was found dead in an apartment Monday. Police say they are looking for a suspect considered armed and dangerous.
Police in Baltimore say they are searching for a repeat violent offender who should not have been free after a 26-year-old tech CEO was found dead at an apartment Monday.
Pava LaPere, the CEO and founder of EcoMap Technologies, whose accomplishments earned her a spot on the Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list, was found dead about 11:30 a.m. Monday at an apartment with apparent signs of “blunt-force trauma,” police said.
Pava LaPere.pavamarie via Instagram
Police said Tuesday they had issued an arrest warrant for Jason Billingsley on first-degree murder and additional charges.
Officials said Billingsley, 32, of Baltimore, should be considered armed and dangerous.
"This individual will kill, and he will rape," Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley warned Tuesday afternoon at a news conference. "He will do anything he can to cause harm."
In 2015, Billingsley was sentenced to 30 years in prison, with 16 years suspended, after he pleaded guilty to a first-degree sex offense, court records show.
The Maryland sex offender registry shows he was released from prison in October. The registry classified him in "tier 3," which includes the most serious charges and requires offenders to register for life.
The prosecutor in the 2015 case did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and Billingsley's public defender could not immediately be reached.
Relatives identified in public records as Billingsley's mother and sister did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Court records show Billingsley also pleaded guilty to first-degree assault in 2009 and second-degree assault in 2011.
The police Special Investigations Section is working to determine whether Billingsley is linked to any other cases, police said.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said Billingsley should not have been free.
"There is no way in hell that he should have been out on the street," Scott said. "When the police go out and do their job, as they did in this case ... and the state's attorney goes out and does their work, gets the conviction, the conviction should be the conviction.
"We are tired of talking about the same people committing the same kind of crimes over and over again."
Officials did not provide details about a possible motive in LaPere's death or any possible relationship between her and Billingsley.
Scott, who said he had gotten to know LaPere in recent years, called her “young, talented” who was “devoted” to the city.
A missing person report had been filed not long before LaPere was discovered dead late Monday morning, police said.
In a written statement Tuesday night, LaPere's family said she was an inspiration to many.
"She was driven, creative, hard working and relentless in her efforts, with her wonderful team at EcoMap Technologies," her family said. "Pava made an impact in every endeavor she undertook and on every life she touched. She will be forever missed as a daughter, sister, grand-daughter, niece, cousin and loyal friend."
LaPere’s firm, EcoMap Technologies, positions itself as a company that uses technology to "digitize ecosystems, ensuring anyone can easily access the information they need, so ecosystems can be as equitable, efficient, & effective as possible.”
In a statement, EcoMap Technologies said the circumstances surrounding LaPere's death were "deeply distressing" and that she "was not only the visionary force behind EcoMap but was also a deeply compassionate and dedicated leader.”
In its "30 Under 30" feature for 2023, Forbes said that LaPere, a Johns Hopkins graduate, had a team of 30 and that her clients included the Aspen Institute, Meta, the WXR Fund and the T. Rowe Price Foundation.
Worley, the police commissioner, pleaded with Billingsley to stop running and turn himself in.
"If you’re out there watching ... every single police officer in Baltimore city, in the state of Maryland, as well as U.S. marshals, are looking for you," Worley said. "We will find you ... and then we will turn it over to the state’s attorney to prosecute you to the fullest. So please turn yourself in."
Antonio Planas
every single police officer in Baltimore city, in the state of Maryland, as well as U.S. marshals, are looking for you
single police officer ... IS looking for you.
If one can’t grasp grammar, one can’t grasp the idea that something is pure stick is unlikely to garner cooperation unless there is some carrot.
I think “will shoot on sight unless you have called to arrange pick up” would provide some carrot.
Bet MD doesn’t prescribed the death penalty.
The new norm. Courtesy of your local democratic voter.
“So please turn yourself in.”
*************
You’ve got to be kidding. How about saying we will hunt you down like the animal you are.
Whatever happened to ‘WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE’?.................
“Baltimore CEO” … LOL. Now there’s some evidence of declining standards in America.
Why aren’t they letting the married police officers look for him?
Keep voting Democrat.
My thoughts exactly.
Keep voting Democrat.
~~~~
They will. Even from the grave
I’m sure she donated heavily to Black Lives Matter. If she would’ve just donated a little bit more before the wall worked out.
Oh, groan.
Meta and Aspen Institute...
Maybe not a sex crime...?
I never saw so many security features in an apartment building as when I visited family in Baltimore. Locked gate at curb with video doorbell, passage to building fenced and topped with chain link, another video doorbell at front door, video in elevator, and this was thirty years ago.
SPJNK.
“Please turn yourself in”?! That’ll never work. Maybe “with sugar on top”?
I wonder how their paths crossed? Did he follow her in?
Donald Trump and Republicans bear some responsibility too.
It was them who pushed 2nd chance initiatives that freed blacks who went back on the streets.
Say what you want about Biden, but he was right on 2 things: Not wanting his kids to go to school with ferals, and his 1994 crime bill which locked up a lot of thugs.
Put out reward $ dead or alive. This rabid murderer needs to be put down. The corrupt legal justice system strikes again letting this turd walk free.
I don’t how anyone who has a choice would choose to live in Baltimore. My grandfather’s grave(who died before I was born) is in Baltimore and it’s unsafe for my mother to visit it. Has been for a long time.
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