WICOMICO COUNTY, Md.- Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis is calling for sentencing changes after a deputy was shot and killed by a man convicted of Armed Robbery.
During a press conference, Sheriff Mike Lewis said suspect Austin Jacob Allen Davidson had been convicted of Armed Robbery in 2019 in Baltimore and received probation before judgment. Davidson is now charged with murdering Deputy Glenn Hilliard as Hilliard was attempting to arrest Davidson on several outstanding warrants.
"Had [Davidson] still been incarcerated where he belonged, our deputy would still be with us today," Sheriff Lewis told reporters. "If we did not have no bail system here in Maryland, if we had individuals serving true sentences here in Maryland, our deputy would still be alive."
Governor Larry Hogan called Davidson's past sentence "unacceptable."
"Someone like this should not have been out on the streets," he told reporters. "You've heard me talk over and over again about getting tough on these repeat offenders, especially judges in Baltimore City letting people out."
The Governor said Davidson will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Sheriff Lewis says stronger sentences are needed to prevent crimes like this one from happening again.
"This is not a gun issue. This is a behavior issue. Individuals [who] are not held accountable here in the state of Maryland for their crimes here and they will continue to offend."
Lewis told the crowd that Davidson told police "Because I can" when asked why he robbed a McDonald's in Baltimore.
"He still somehow got probation before judgment and was still on the streets to murder a police officer," Lewis said. "But he's wreaked hell all over the Lower Eastern Shore. That is why we had four warrants for his arrest in Somerset, in Worcester, in Wicomico, in Baltimore City. This is a revolving door we have in our criminal justice system here in the state of Maryland."
Hilliard's murder is the first line of duty murder in Wicomico County since December 8th, 1968