Federal Inmate Pleads Guilty To Escape

Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on April 30, 2015, Kim T. Collins, 38, formerly an inmate at the Federal Correctional Center in Forrest City, Arkansas (FCC-Forrest City), pled guilty to an Indictment charging him with Escape. Collins faces a new term in federal prison of not more than five years, a fine up to $250,000, or both, and a term of supervised release of not more than three years. Collins’ sentencing is scheduled for August 7, 2015, in East St. Louis, Illinois. Collins has been detained (held without bond) since his arraignment on the Indictment in March 2015.

Facts revealed in Court showed that on March 8, 2013, Collins was sentenced to a total of 135 months in prison for drug offenses. On September 4, 2014, Collins was furloughed from FCC-Forrest City to the United States Penitentiary in Marion, Illinois ("USP-Marion"). With a furlough, the Bureau of Prisons allows low-risk inmates to travel from one facility to another without a law enforcement escort. In this case, Collins was to travel to Marion via Greyhound Bus and then take a taxi to the prison. Collins never showed up at USP-Marion, and never contacted either USP-Marion or FCC-Forrest City to explain why he did not do so. In fact, Collins had been picked up by an individual at the bus stop on September 4, 2014, and went to Alton rather than USP-Marion.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Prisons and the United States Marshals Service. The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Angela Scott.