NATION : 10 Years in Failed Copter Escape
A former champion race boat driver was sentenced today to 10 years and five months in federal prison for attempting a dramatic helicopter escape from a federal prison.
Benjamin (Barry) Kramer, 34, will serve the sentence consecutive with a life term stemming from a drug smuggling conviction in Illinois in 1986, said U.S. District Judge James Kehoe.
Kramer appeared in court today using a crutch because of injuries suffered in the unsuccessful April 17, 1989, escape attempt from the federal Metropolitan Correctional Center south of Miami.
Kramer grabbed the landing skids of the helicopter, but the craft snagged a wire atop the prison fence and crashed, injuring Kramer and pilot Charlie Clayton Stevens.
Stevens and two others pleaded guilty to taking part in the escape attempt. Another defendant was found guilty.
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