South Jersey Man Shot In UPS Standoff Had Criminal Past: Reports

LOGAN TOWNSHIP, NJ - A 39-year-old man who was fatally shot by police following a 3-hour standoff at a South Jersey UPS facility reportedly had a criminal history that stretched back nearly 20 years.

At the same time, those close to him have painted a portrait of a troubled soul who was trying to rebuild his fractured family life, according to reprots. William Owens, of Sicklerville, was even wearing an ankle bracelet related to one of the two women he took hostage at the facility in Logan Township, according to NBC 10.

Owens entered the facility on Birch Creek Road at about 8:30 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 14, armed with a gun, according to authorities. He took two women hostage and negotiated with law enforcement for just over three hours. Shots were fired early in the incident, but no one was injured.

He had left the facility with both women when he was shot by multiple law enforcement officials, authorities said. He was pronounced dead on the scene, and both hostages were safe.

The state Attorney General’s Office is investigating the police-involved shooting. The facility remained closed on Tuesday as the investigation continued, according to multiple news reports.

Read more here: ‘This Isn’t My Uncle:’ NJ Family Stunned After Hostage Standoff

While family members have said they were taken by surprise by Owens' actions, nj.com reports he was convicted and sentenced to jail time on aggravated assault charges three times between 2001 and 2014. He was also convicted of weapons charges in 2005 and 2014, and was sentenced to probation for violating a domestic violence order in 2017.

Gloucester County Prosecutor Charles Fiore said Williams had a relationship with one of the two hostages, but authorities haven’t specified what that relationship was. Witnesses have told the media one of the hostages was his ex-girlfriend.

Owens’ cousin, Gail Wright, told the Courier Post he was a nice guy. She said she spoke to him a few days ago, and he “seemed OK.” She was also present when his mother got the phone call about the incident at 10 a.m. Monday morning.

Stephanie Keith, the mother of Owens’ two daughters, told NBC10 he had been trying to make peace with people for several weeks, including his two daughters.

"There's so many people that cared about him," Keith told the network. "I can't believe they allowed him to slip through the cracks."

His Facebook page lists the Woodbury High School graduate as an employee at UPS, but authorities said he didn’t work at the facility. Witnesses told 6abc he worked at another building in the same industrial complex.

While some people who visited his page were angry about what he had done, others defended him or expressed sorrow about his state of mind.

“I feel sorry for him, I don’t think he intended to go in and kill anyone, he probably just felt that was the only way to get answers,” one person wrote.

Wrote another: “That poor soul, he was in some pain.”

Image via YouTube video.