Inmate Pleads Guilty To Escaping From Halfway House

Joshua James Morrow, 28, a Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate housed at the Centerstone Halfway House in Marion, Illinois, pled guilty today in United States District Court in Benton to an indictment charging him with escaping from that facility, announced James L. Porter, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois. The indictment, returned by a Federal Grand Jury on February 2, 2016, alleged that the escape occurred on January 6th. Morrow was taken into custody by the United States Marshal’s Service on January 8th in Carrier Mills, Illinois. At the time of the escape, Morrow was serving a 30 month federal sentence for various counterfeiting offenses.

Sentencing was set for June 29, 2016, at 10:30 a.m. at the United States Courthouse in Benton. Morrow faces up to an additional 5 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years of supervised release following his incarceration.

Morrow was returned to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons to await sentencing on the escape charge.

Morrow’s codefendant, Jessica Hayden, is charged with aiding and abetting Morrow’s escape. A trial date of May 23rd at 9:00 a.m. has been set in her case.

Note: Hayden is presumed innocent of this charge until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James M. Cutchin.