Des Moines Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Escape

Des Moines, IA—On October 9, 2020, Jesse Jay Walker, age 32, of Des Moines, appeared before United States District Court Chief Judge John A. Jarvey and was sentenced to 30 months in prison for escape and was ordered to serve three years of supervised release to follow his prison term.  Walker pleaded guilty to the offense on June 2, 2020.

In October of 2019, Walker left the Fort Des Moines residential reentry center where he was serving the last part of a federal prison sentence for felon in possession of a firearm. Walker left the facility on a pass and never returned. The escape offense was aggravated by his commission of additional offenses while on escape status, including a theft in the second degree (a felony) and leaving the scene of a bodily injury accident in Clive, Iowa. Walker is scheduled to be sentenced on those state charges on December 4, 2020, in the Iowa District Court for Polk County.

This matter was investigated by the United States Marshals Service and the Clive Police Department. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa.