Roger Stokes, 36, of Walnut Grove, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III, to 21 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for escaping from federal custody, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and U.S. Marshal Mark B. Shepherd of the United States Marshals Service.
Stokes was previously convicted of illegal transportation of an alien and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola to two years in custody, followed by three years of supervised release. Following a revocation of his supervised release and the imposition of an additional two years in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Stokes was transferred to the Bannum Place Residential Reentry Center in Jackson to serve the remainder of his time with an anticipated release date of March 18, 2019.
On January 11, 2019, after being confronted by facility personnel with a positive drug test, Stokes escaped from the facility and was caught by law enforcement in Attala County ten days later.
Stokes was indicted on February 6, 2019, for escaping from federal custody. Stokes pleaded guilty on April 5, 2019, before Chief Judge Jordan. In articulating the reasons for his sentence, Chief Judge Jordan cited to Stokes’s extensive criminal history and the need to deter other inmates from trying to escape in the future.
The United States Marshals Service investigated the case. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Andrew W. Eichner.
