Marion Prison Camp Inmate Sentenced for Escape

An inmate from the federal prison camp at Marion, Illinois, was sentenced today in United States District Court in Benton to an additional 33 months in prison for escaping from that minimum security facility on February 11, 2011. Robert L. Martin, 37, had previously pled guilty to the escape charge on June 20, 2011. At the time of the escape, Martin was serving a 210-month sentence for conspiring to distribute crack cocaine and the 33-month sentence was imposed consecutively to that term of imprisonment.

Evidence introduced in support of the guilty plea and sentence showed that Martin and two other inmates left the prison camp on foot and were picked up by a vehicle driven by the girlfriend of one of the inmates. When a Williamson County Sheriff’s Department deputy attempted to perform a traffic stop on the vehicle, a high-speed pursuit followed that reached speeds well in excess of 100 m.p.h. Following that pursuit, the three inmates fled from the car on foot. Martin was taken into custody a short time later by officers of the Marion Police Department. The two other inmates have both pled guilty to escape charges and are awaiting sentencing.

In addition to the 33-month term of imprisonment, Martin was ordered to pay a total of $200 in fines and special assessments and was placed on a three-year term of supervised release to follow his incarceration.

The case was investigated by the United States Marshal Service, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Williamson County Sheriff’s Department, and the Marion Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James M. Cutchin.