BEAUMONT, Texas – Two federal inmates have pleaded guilty to escape from a Bureau of Prisons facility in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown on Thursday.
Julian Villa-Gomez Lemus, 34, a Mexican national, and Robert Lloyd Young, 45, of Bruceville, Texas, each pleaded guilty to escaping from federal custody before U.S. Magistrate Judge Zack Hawthorn on Jan. 9, 2020.
According to information presented in court, on Oct. 11, 2019, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office received an anonymous tip alerting them that inmates at the Bureau of Prison Camp Facility in west Jefferson County were planning to escape from the facility in order to retrieve contraband that had been left for them in a field off Hillebrandt Road. Law enforcement officers surrounded the area in concealed locations and within several hours observed four inmates approaching on foot. All four inmates were apprehended after attempting to flee and detained. A search of the inmates revealed several cellular telephones and a bottle of whisky. All four were indicted by a federal grand jury on Nov. 6, 2019.
Lemus and Young were both serving federal prison sentences for drug trafficking convictions. Lemus was convicted in the Middle District of Florida while Young was convicted in the Western District of Texas.
“There have been ongoing issues with inmates walking away from this facility, which is a low security prison camp,” said U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown. “Bureau of Prison officials have continued to improve the security features at the camp, and we will continue to prosecute inmates that escape, and any friends or family members that help them in any way.”
Under federal statutes, Lemus and Young face up to an additional 5 years in federal prison at sentencing. The maximum statutory sentence prescribed by Congress is provided here for information purposes, as the sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.
This case was investigated by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Marshals Service and prosecuted by Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston.
