Stockton Man Sentenced For Escaping From Mendota Federal Correctional Institution

FRESNO, Calif. – Michael Paul Thompson, 32, of Stockton, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill to 13 months in prison for escaping from the custody of a federal correctional institution, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

According to court documents, Thompson escaped from Federal Correctional Institution–Mendota, on October 12, 2011. He had been serving a 10-year sentence following his conviction in June 2010 for conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Thompson was apprehended in Stockton on March 29, 2013, after leading police officers on a 20-minute high-speed chase reaching speeds of 100 mph in moderate-to-heavy traffic. The reckless endangerment during this flight required police officers to undertake physical intervention, resulting in major damage to one police vehicle.

This case was the product of an investigation by the U.S. Marshals Service and the Stockton Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Baker prosecuted the case.