Pair of USP Lee Inmates Sentenced for Escape

Abingdon, VIRGINIA – A pair of inmates serving time at United States Penitentiary Lee County in Jonesville, Virginia, who escaped in May 2017, were sentenced to additional prison time yesterday in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Abingdon, United States Attorney Rick A. Mountcastle announced.

Salah Mohamed, 36, was sentenced yesterday to 60 months in prison. He previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to escape or attempt to escape a correctional facility and one count of escape from a correctional facility. Kamal Qazah, 38, was also sentenced yesterday to 60 months in prison. He previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to escape or attempt to escape a correctional facility and one count of escape from a correctional facility.

According to evidence presented at previous hearings by Assistant United States Attorney Zachary T. Lee, Mohamed and Qazah were inmates serving prison time at USP Lee prison camp. Mohamed was serving 172 months and Qazah was serving 216 months when in May 2017 they failed to show-up for the 5:00 p.m. inmate count. USP officials discovered that Mohamad and Qazah had walked away from the camp and were likely picked-up by another person on a nearby road outside of the grounds of USP Lee.  Nineteen days later the United States Marshals Service was able to locate Mohamed and Qazah in Mexico City, Mexico and take them into custody.  Found in their possession were forged Yemeni passports and United States currency.

The investigation of the case was conducted by the United States Marshals Service.  Assistant United States Attorney Zachary T. Lee prosecuted the case for the United States.