Minnesota Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Escape from Custody

A man who escaped from custody in the Gerald R. Hinzman Center was sentenced today to 18 months in federal prison.

Joshua Taylor Watson, age 35, from Rochester, Minnesota, received the prison term after a June 10, 2024 guilty plea to one count of escape from federal custody.

At the plea hearing, Watson admitted that he was in custody at the Hinzman Center under a federal court order pursuant to his prior conviction for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.  On January 22, 2024, Watson left the facility without permission and did not return.  Watson was found in Rochester, Minnesota, and he was arrested on January 25, 2024.  

Watson was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Watson was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Watson is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adam J. Vander Stoep and was investigated by the United States Marshals Service and the Northern Iowa Fugitive Task Force.

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

The case file number is 24-CR-9.

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