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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
April 4, 2008
FORMER CORRECTIONS OFFICER PLEADS GUILTY TO FEDERAL GUN CHARGE
Prosecutors will recommend Amber Goff be sentenced to 5 years in federal prison
WICHITA, KAN. – Former corrections officer Amber Lynn Goff, 24, Augusta, Kan., pleaded guilty Friday to a federal firearms charge and admitted she gave guns to two inmates to help them escape from El Dorado Correctional Facility.
“Amber Goff used bolt cutters to make a hole in the fence of the prison,” said U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren. “She provided three guns to the inmates. And she drove them out of Kansas.”
Melgren said his office worked with Butler County Attorney Jan Satterfield and the Kansas Department of Corrections on the case.
“I am pleased that through a cooperative effort we are able to obtain the maximum sentence for Amber Goff,” Satterfield said. “The joint plea agreement does two things: It creates a greater guarantee of incarceration, and it provides fo the incarceration federally as opposed to state incarceration.”
Kansas Secretary of Corrections Roger Werholz said: “The guilty plea addresses our primary interests in this matter. Amber Goff is being held accountable for her actions. We will continue to work with state and federal authorities to pursue prosecution of Jesse Bell and Steven Ford to the fullest extent of the law.”
In her plea, Goff described her role in the Oct. 28, 2007, escape of Steven Ford and Jesse Bell, from the time she received a cell phone call that evening from Ford to the time she drove Ford and Bell out of Kansas. According to her plea:
– Goff took three firearms from the residence of Grant and Laurie Nutter in Augusta, Kan.: a Glock .40 caliber pistol, a Smith & Wesson .357 caliber revolver, and a Sterling Arms .22 caliber pistol.
– After receiving a phone call from Ford, Goff drove south from Highway 254 down Stone Road past the Butler County Jail. She drove near the firing range and parked by a gate across an access road to the grounds of El Dorado Correctional Facility.
– She used bolt cutters to cut through a padlock securing the outer gate and drove onto the grounds of the correctional facility.
– She used bolt cutters to cut through one of the fences on the facility and wire cutters to cut through another fence on the facility. She provided a pair of wire cutters as well as guns to Ford and Bell, who escaped from the facility on foot.
– Goff, Ford and Bell returned to Goff’s car and she drove them away from the prison. They abandoned Goff’s car in a parking lot in Augusta and got into a car she had rented. Goff drove Ford and Bell out of Kansas and into Oklahoma. They were arrested Oct. 31, 2007, in Grants, New Mexico.
Sentencing is set for 10 a.m. June 20 before U.S. District Judge Wesley E. Brown. Goff faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. Federal prosecutors are recommending Goff receive a 5-year sentence.
Melgren commended the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Butler County Sheriff’s Office, the Kansas Department of Corrections, law enforcement officials in Grants, N.M., and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Treaster for their work on the case.
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