July 23, a Jefferson County jury in Judge Raquel West’s 252nd District Court found Joseph Charles Freeman guilty of the crime of murder and sentenced the defendant to 60 years in prison. The sentence will run on top of a 60-year sentence Freeman is already serving.
According to Beaumont Police Department (BPD) detectives investigating the murder case, Freeman, 18 at the time of the murder, was involved in the shooting death of Richard Shillow on March 27, 2022. At the same time Freeman was being sought by police for the murder, Freeman was also wanted on an aggravated robbery (carjacking) warrant for a crime that occurred in the 1200 block of Saxe roughly a week prior to Shillow’s murder, March 19, 2022. During the time of both crimes, Freeman was on bond for deadly conduct-discharge firearm, evading and unlawfully carrying a weapon.
According to evidence presented in court, Freeman was not the shooter, but was involved with three other individuals in a plot to rob Shillow. During the commission of the robbery, a co-defendant discharged the firearm, killing Shillow.
Freeman