Self Proclaimed “Gingerbread Man” Sentenced For 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, who was convicted of escape, was sentenced to 18 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge David G. Larimer.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig R. Gestring, who handled the case, stated that the defendant was convicted in federal court 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, in November 2014, Nelson left the Residential Reentry Center without authorization and failed to return.

While at the Volunteers of America Residential Reentry Center, Nelson was also sanctioned for using drugs, possessing contraband, and failing to follow the Center’s employment release program. In addition to his conviction for narcotics possession, Nelson is also a convicted sex offender, having been convicted in 2007 of raping a 13 year old girl.

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

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