JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville man has been sentenced to additional time in prison after he reportedly left a halfway house without authorization.
Keenan Hunter, 32, of Jacksonville, was sentenced on Thursday by U.S. District Judge Brian J. Davis to two years and three months in federal prison for his escape from custody from a halfway house in Jacksonville.
Hunter pleaded guilty on December 29, 2022.
According to court documents, on October 29, 2018, Hunter was sentenced to five years imprisonment for being a felon in possession of a firearm. In August 2020, the Federal Bureau of Prisons placed Hunter in a halfway house in Jacksonville to complete his sentence. He had an estimated release date of February 5, 2021.
On December 9, 2020, at 9:45 a.m., Hunter is alleged to have walked out of the halfway house without authorization. He was therefore listed as an escapee, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida (USAO).
“Paperwork from the halfway house confirms that Hunter was informed of the rules of the halfway house, including that a failure to remain there could result in prosecution for escape. He also electronically signed a written acknowledgment. Hunter never returned to the halfway house,” said the USAO.
The United States Marshals Service investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Washington prosecuted it.
