Red Oak man receives 10-year sentence for attempted jail break
RED OAK — A 2008 jail break involving a sawed-off shotgun has resulted in a Red Oak man receiving an additional 10 years in federal prison.
Stewart James Sellers, 34, pleaded guilty to the charge unlawful possession of an unregistered weapon in U.S. District Court on Sept. 26, 2008, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice. This is the maximum possible penalty for that offense. Sentence was imposed on July 22, by Chief U.S. District Judge Robert Pratt, who also ordered him to serve three years of supervised release after his incarceration, and pay a $100 assessment to the Crime Victim Fund.
Sellers possessed the sawed-off shotgun, during an attempted jail break in Montgomery County on Jan. 7, 2008. Jessica Ann Johnson, his girlfriend at the time, entered the jail and the couple was able to lock up the female jailer by threatening her with the shotgun. They fled to Omaha where they were arrested about seven hours later.
Sellers was previously sentenced in state court for both escape and the drug offense for which he was originally being held, and the state court imposed a sentence of five years for each of these offenses, to be served consecutively, for a total of 10 years. The 10-year sentence for the federal weapons offense was ordered to be consecutive to the state sentences, resulting in a total combined sentence of 20 years.
Jessica Ann Johnson, 25, of Red Oak, plead guilty on May 12 to three felony charges; interference with official acts, possession of an offensive weapon and assisting in the escape of a prisoner. As a result, she was sentenced to respective terms of 10 years, five years and five years to be served concurrently.
The case on Sellers was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, in cooperation with the U.S. Marshals Service, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, the Montgomery County Attorney’s Office, the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, the Red Oak Police Department, and the Omaha, Neb. Police Department.
court imposed a sentence of five (5) years for each of these offenses, to be served consecutively, for a total of ten (10) years. The ten-year sentence for the federal weapons offense was ordered to be consecutive to the state sentences, resulting in a total, combined sentence of twenty (20) years.
Jessica Ann Johnson, 25, of Red Oak, plead guilty on May 12 to three felony charges; interference with official acts, possession of an offensive weapon and assisting in the escape of a prisoner. As a result, she was sentenced to respective terms of ten (10) years, five (5) years and five (5) years to be served concurrently.
The case on Sellers was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, in cooperation with the U.S. Marshals Service, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, the Montgomery County Attorney’s Office, the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, the Red Oak Police Department, and the Omaha, Neb. Police Department.