Pasadena Man Jailed After Murdering Man, Shooting 2 Cops: Report

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — A judge sentenced 23-year-old Joseph Willis of Pasadena to three consecutive life sentences last Friday, a report said. On Nov. 24, 2020, Willis pleaded guilty to the murder of a Glen Burnie man and the shooting of two Anne Arundel County police officers, the state's attorney announced.

The violence started on Feb. 5, 2020, when police got a call from the 600 block of Newfield Road in Glen Burnie. The caller told officers that he found his roommate beaten to death on the floor of their ransacked home.

Police identified the man as Christopher Lawrence Jones. An autopsy ruled his death a homicide.

The caller added that the Jones' 2010 Toyota Camry was missing. He believed one of Jone's friends, known only as "Joe," stole the car.

The car popped up on a license plate reader in Brooklyn Park later that night. Anne Arundel County Detectives William Ballard and Ian Preece drove to Church Street, hoping to find the suspect.

Preece spotted the car around 11 p.m., but the driver refused to pull over. An incident report said Ballard pulled up next to the suspect, who then shot Ballard in the face.

The shot knocked out several teeth, forced reconstructive surgery and required Ballard to have his jaw wired shut for months. Medics took Ballard to the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore.

Preece continued to follow the suspect. The report noted that the accused man also shot at Preece, striking his right arm, grazing the right side of his torso and hitting his headrest.

Preece eventually struck the driver's side of the Camry, stopping the car. The suspect got out and ran away. Preece went to shock trauma soon after.

The next day, police searched the Glen Burnie home. Officers found an empty gun shell, an ammunition box full of bullets and a marijuana cigarette.

Investigators matched fingerprints found in the home to Willis, the report added. Later that day, police secured a search warrant for a home in the 1300 block of River Bank Court, where they found Willis and two "associates."

The Anne Arundel County Police Department arrested all three people. Willis then admitted to murdering Jones and shooting Ballard and Preece.

"Willis’ senseless actions traumatized our community by forcing schools to close and neighborhoods to lock down during the 16-hour manhunt," Anne Arundel County State's Attorney Anne Colt Leitess said in a press release. "Today, the defendant was held accountable for these heinous crimes."

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Have a story idea? Please contact me at jacob.baumgart@patch.com with any pitches, tips or questions. Follow me on Twitter @JacobBaumgart and on Facebook @JacobBaumgartJournalist to stay up-to-date with the latest Anne Arundel County and Prince George's County news.