Wilkerson sentenced for 3-month escape
Michael Wilkerson will trade three months of freedom for four years of confinement for his daring escape from guards at the courthouse last year.
However, the four-year sentence is merely a drop in the bucket for the 31-year-old convicted drug trafficker as he is already serving 57 years in prison for cocaine dealing.
It was the possibility of spending most of his remaining years in jail which prompted Wilkerson to make his dash to freedom in February, 2004.
At that time, Wilkerson disappeared from the courtroom minutes after a jury convicted him on the cocaine charges. The courtroom guards had left the room, giving Wilkerson, who was not handcuffed and was wearing sneakers, a chance to flee the courthouse undetected.
Wilkerson was dressed in street clothes as is common practice during trial. He was unshackled because he was eating supper at the defense table since his trial had gone deep into the evening.
Wilkerson remained at large until late April, when he was collared outside a Sparta residence where he was hiding out. Officers reported finding drugs on Wilkerson when he was captured in Sparta.
The four years handed to Wilkerson will come in addition to his cocaine sentence, meaning he is effectively sentenced to 61 years. The severity of his cocaine sentence was due to the fact he had already been convicted and served time on cocaine charges before.
He will become eligible for parole next in 2015. His sentence will not officially expire until 2066. He remains held at the Turney Center serving his sentence.