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LAKELAND — A murder suspect who shot and wounded a Lanier County deputy on her first day of the job in 2020 has been sentenced to life in prison for his Georgia crimes, according to authorities.

William “Billy” Welland Jr., 40, entered a plea to avoid trial on several charges in Lanier County, including home invasion and aggravated assault of deputies, Alapaha District Attorney Chase L. Studstill said in a statement.

Welland was sentenced to life plus 10 years. He is being extradited to Florida, according to the statement; he is wanted there in connection with a 2020 homicide in Tampa after police found a man dead in the garage bay of an auto body shop, Tampa police said.

At 11:50 a.m., July 22, 2020, deputies were dispatched to Old Stockton Road in Lakeland on a home invasion call where the homeowner was shot and an unsuccessful attempt was made to steal his vehicle. The suspect was driving a car reported stolen from Tampa, Fla., which belonged to a homicide victim, Tampa police said. The suspect drove to a home on Crisp School Road, entered another home and stole a minivan, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said at the time.

Deputies spotted him and tried to make a traffic stop; the suspect led officers on a short chase before pulling behind a home on Ga. 122 East, getting out and running. The suspect pointed firearms at the deputies and gunfire was exchanged, the GBI said.

One deputy, a woman who was working her first day with the sheriff’s office, was grazed by a bullet and was treated and released from the South Georgia Medical Center Lanier campus. The suspect was shot multiple times, according to the statement.

The homeowner who was shot was treated at South Georgia Medical Center, the GBI said.