Federal Prisoner Pleads Guilty in Connection to Escaping from Halfway House

CONCORD – A former New York man pleaded guilty today in federal court to escaping from the Hampshire House Residential Reentry Center in Manchester, U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces.

Michael Villanueva, 43, pleaded guilty to escaping from federal custody.  U.S. District Court Paul J. Barbadoro scheduled sentencing for June 26, 2024.   

Villanueva was previously sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment by the District of Vermont for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, namely heroin and cocaine. In June 2023, he was transferred by the Bureau of Prisons from the federal facility in Allenwood, Pennsylvania to the Hampshire House. At the Hampshire House, he was placed on house arrest and wore an electronic GPS monitoring ankle bracelet.

On January 10, 2024, Villanueva was told to report to the Hampshire House after authorities found inappropriate messages in his phone. That evening, at 6:41 pm, the Bureau of Prisons received an alert that Villanueva’s GPS monitoring ankle bracelet had been tampered with. Villanueva did not return to the Hampshire House. He was at large for three weeks before being apprehended in the Manchester area.

The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than 5 years in prison, 3 years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

The U.S. Marshals Service led the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander S. Chen is prosecuting the case.  

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