By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH
SEMO News Service
BLOOMFIELD, Mo. - A week after being apprehended for allegedly escaping from the Stoddard County Jail, a Puxico, Mo., area man pleaded guilty to those actions.
Jason Stroup was to appear Thursday before Associate Circuit Judge Joe Satterfield for arraignment on the Class D felony of escape from custody.
During that court appearance, the 34-year-old was arraigned, then waived having a preliminary hearing and was bound over on the charge, according to Stoddard County Prosecuting Attorney Russ Oliver.
"The case was reassigned back to Judge Satterfield and (he) accepted (Stroup's) plea," Oliver said. "The statement (Stroup) said he was ready to go off and do his time."
Satterfield sentenced Stroup to three years in the Missouri Department of Corrections.
"The three years was a negotiated agreement," Oliver said.
Satterfield ordered the sentence to run consecutive to the combined 12-year sentences Stroup received last week from Presiding Circuit Judge Stephen Sharp.
Stroup escaped from the Stoddard County Justice Center at about 11:30 a.m. Feb. 15 following his court appearance before Sharp. He was apprehended at about 3 p.m. the next day just inside the Bollinger County line.
Sharp originally sentenced Stroup to five years in prison on a Class C felony of forgery on Jan. 4.
Stroup also was sentenced to seven years in prison, with suspended execution of the sentence, on a second Class C felony of forgery and placed on five years' supervised probation upon his release from prison. His sentences were ordered to run concurrently.
At that time, Sharp gave Stroup a furlough, ordering him to surrender at the Stoddard County Sheriff's Department on Jan. 8 for transport to prison; however, Stroup did not appear four days later as ordered.
Sharp issued a warrant for Stroup's arrest and ordered him appear in court before being transported to prison.
On Feb. 15, Sharp revoked Stroup's probation on the second forgery charge and ordered its seven-year sentence to run consecutive to his five-year sentence.
"You won't hear a prosecutor say this often, but this was an unfortunate situation," Oliver explained. "He originally was to go to prison for a five-year sentence, and our plan was when he came out of prison that he would start making restitution to the victim.
"He obviously messed that up and got 12 years and an additional three years."
The taxpayers, Oliver said, are going to have to "foot the bill for (Stroup to spend) much more time in prison (but) we simply can't have it go on people running off and not standing up and facing the music."