Fugitive Sentenced to Federal Prison

MISSOULA – Martin Jay Hope, a 57-year-old federal felon, was sentenced today to 15 months in prison followed by 3 years supervised release after pleading guilty to escape on January 24, 2018.  U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen handed down the sentence. 

In November 2008, Hope was sentenced to 312 months custody in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.  In March 2017, Hope was re-sentenced to ten years imprisonment.  His projected release date was October 27, 2017.  Hope was to serve the last month of his sentence at the Butte Prerelease Center.  In late September, Hope left California for the Butte RRC using transportation and bus tickets purchased by the BOP for his transfer.  He should have arrived in Butte on September 28, 2017.  The following day, the BOP notified the United States Marshals Service that Hope failed to report to the Butte RRC as scheduled.  Hope was arrested on September 30, 2017, in Longview, Washington.  He was returned to BOP custody shortly after his arrest.  According to Hope, he absconded in order to see his mother and his sister.  While at the bus station, someone offered him methamphetamine and he accepted it. 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paulette Stewart and investigated by the Unites States Marshals Service, United States Probation Office, and Federal Bureau of Prisons. 

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.   Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.