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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
Oct. 5, 2009
JAIL ESCAPEE SENTENCED ON FEDERAL FIREARMS CHARGE
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – John Manard, 30, has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for unlawfully possessing a firearm during an escape from state prison, U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch said today. The sentence is to be served consecutively to sentences for criminal convictions in state court on charges of murder and jail break.
In February 2009, Manard pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction. Co-defendant Toby Young pleaded guilty to one count of giving a firearm to a convicted felon. She was sentenced to 27 months.
In Young’s plea, she admitted she met Manard in 2005 while he was an inmate at Lansing Prison and she was working for the Safe Harbor Prison Dog Program. Manard was assigned to escort Young during her visits to the prison. Over time, they became friends. She helped him devise a plan to escape and provided him with a cell phone.
On Feb. 12, 2006, Manard hid in a cardboard box inside a dog cage in Young’s van and she drove him out of the prison. During conversations with Manard, Young had told him that her husband was a hunter and there were several firearms at their house. After the escape, they went to Young’s house, where Manard obtained a .38 caliber AMT pistol and a 9 mm Glock pistol.
Welch commended The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Assistant U.S. Attorney Terra Morehead for their work on the case.
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