Joshua Taylor Watson, Escape from Custody, Iowa 2024

Federal Prison Sentence Handed Down in Escape Case

A man who managed to escape from a federal correctional facility in Iowa has been sentenced to 18 months in prison. Joshua Taylor Watson, a 35-year-old from Rochester, Minnesota, was found guilty of one count of escape from federal custody and received the prison term.

Watson was being held at the Gerald R. Hinzman Center under a federal court order after being convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. However, on January 22, 2024, he left the facility without permission and was not found until January 25, 2024, in Rochester, Minnesota.

Watson was arrested and subsequently charged with the escape. He pleaded guilty to the charge on June 10, 2024, and was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams in Cedar Rapids.

As part of his sentence, Watson must serve 18 months in federal prison. Upon his release, he will also be required to serve a three-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

Watson is currently being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison to begin serving his sentence.

The case against Watson was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adam J. Vander Stoep, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service and the Northern Iowa Fugitive Task Force.

Those interested in accessing court file information can visit https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 24-CR-9.

Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA for updates on this and other cases.

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