The Baltimore Sun
BALTIMORE, Md. — A man who escaped from a state prison van on the way to Baltimore Circuit Court was convicted of handgun charges in his absence last night, according to a prosecutor with the city state’s attorney’s office.
On Tuesday, Marcus Anderson, who was unrestrained, leaped out of a road crew van when it stopped at a red light at Baltimore and South streets.
Because of a missed connection in Jessup, Anderson, 22, was being driven to court by a corrections officer who normally doesn’t transport prisoners, according to testimony. The officer put Anderson in the front passenger seat, and she had no radio or cell phone to alert authorities after his escape.
Judge Charles G. Bernstein decided to try the case, even though Anderson was at large.
The trial ended yesterday afternoon, and the jury returned a guilty verdict about 7 p.m., said Doug Ludwig, division chief of the firearms unit in the prosecutor’s office. Anderson was found guilty of being a felon in possession of a handgun and transporting a handgun in a vehicle, he said.
Anderson will be sentenced after he is recaptured. He could receive
a maximum penalty of eight years in prison, the first five without parole, in the gun case. Felony escape charges are pending, Ludwig said.
Anyone with information on Anderson’s location is asked to call 911.
Copyright 2008 Baltimore Sun