Colombian Man Pleads Guilty to Escaping From Federal Custody

LUBBOCK, Texas — Juan Carlos Marin-Cardona, 47, a citizen and national of Columbia, appeared in federal court today and pleaded guilty, before U.S. Magistrate Judge E. Scott Frost, to escaping from federal custody in 1994, announced U.S Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Marin-Cardona, who has been in custody since his arrest in April 2017, faces a statutory penalty of not more than 5 years in federal prison and a $5,000 fine. His sentencing will be set at a later date.

According to plea documents filed in the case, on January 22, 1993, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida sentenced Juan Carlos Marin-Cardona to 70 months imprisonment for the felony offenses of importation of cocaine and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Marin-Cardona was later transferred to federal custody at the Eden Detention Center in Eden, Texas.

On November 3, 1994, an Eden maintenance officer went to retrieve Marin-Cardona from the front of the institution but Marin-Cardona wasn’t there. The Eden Detention Center initiated a lockdown and emergency headcount. It was confirmed that Marin-Cardona was not in the Eden Detention Center and had left federal custody without permission. Marin-Cardona was placed on escape status.

Through a diligent investigation by the United States Marshals Service (USMS), deputies located Marin-Cardona living in a foreign county under the name Alexander Rey Marin Cardona. In March 2017, USMS deputies were ultimately able to apprehend Marin-Cardona in Houston, Texas, at the airport.

The United States Marshal Service and the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Haag is in charge of the prosecution.

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