Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, announced today that a federal grand jury in Cleveland, Ohio, returned an indictment charging Perry T. Johnson, age 22, of Cleveland Ohio, in connection with his escape from the Bedford Heights Jail on Aug. 12, 2013.
The indictment charges that Mr. Johnson escaped from the Bedford Heights Jail, where he was ordered detained by U.S. Magistrate Judge Kenneth S. McHargh, pending the resolution of a separate criminal case. In that case, Johnson pled guilty to robbing two CVS pharmacies in November 2012, brandishing a firearm in connection with one of the robberies, and possessing with the intent to distribute oxycodone that he stole from one of the CVS pharmacies. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 20, 2013, in connection with that case.
If convicted, the defendant's sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant's prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew B. Kall and Margaret A. Sweeney, following investigation by the U.S. Marshal Service and the Bedford Heights Police Department.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
