Escape From Federal Custody Results in Conviction

A man who escaped from custody while serving a federal sentence in the Gerald R. Hinzman Center pled guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Ramius Hardiman, age 26, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was convicted of one count of escape from federal custody.

In a plea agreement, Hardiman admitted that he was in federal custody at the Gerald R. Hinzman Center pursuant to a federal court order issued in a 2013 federal firearm case beginning on October 23, 2018.  On November 15, 2018, Hardiman escaped from custody by signing out of the facility and failing to return.  Hardiman was ultimately arrested by the North Liberty Police Department on January 9, 2019. 

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Hardiman remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Hardiman faces a possible maximum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick J. Reinert and was investigated by the United States Marshals Service, the Northern Iowa Fugitive Task Force, with the assistance of the North Liberty, Iowa, Police Department. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 19-CR-00050.

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