Self Proclaimed “Gingerbread Man” Caught; Pleads Guilty To Escape From Federal Halfway House

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
PHONE:         (716) 843-5817
FAX:            (716) 551-3051
 
ROCHESTER, N.Y.  U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Lamar Nelson, 27, of Rochester, NY, pleaded guilty to escape before U.S. District Court Judge David G. Larimer. The charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig R. Gestring, who is handling the case, stated that the defendant was convicted in 2010 for possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine. As part of that sentence, the Bureau of Prisons assigned Nelson to the Volunteers of America Residential Reentry Center in Rochester in September of 2014. However, at that time, Nelson left the center without authorization and failed to return. In addition to his conviction for narcotics possession, the defendant was also a convicted sex offender.

The United States Marshal’s Service, along with members of the New York and New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task force began to search for the defendant in and around Rochester. During this time, Nelson exchanged phone calls and emails with the Deputy Marshal in charge of the investigation in which Nelson acknowledged that he was a fugitive, and at one point claimed that he was the “gingerbread man.”

Nelson was taken into custody without incident by the United States Marshal’s Service on April 30, 2015.

The plea is the culmination of an investigation by the United States Marshal’s Service, under the direction of Charles Salina.

Sentencing is scheduled for November 19, 2015, at 10:00 a.m. before Judge Larimer.