Man Convicted in Escape From Prison on Rope
A man with a history of violent crimes was convicted Wednesday of escaping from the downtown Los Angeles federal prison with four other men who descended to freedom on a rope fashioned from bedsheets.
Victor Age, 32, faces a maximum term of five years when he is sentenced May 14 for his escape from the Metropolitan Detention Center, Asst. U.S. Atty. Michael Emmick said.
Age was awaiting sentencing for firearms violations when he and four others hacked through a metal mesh enclosure on an eighth-floor exercise balcony of the facility June 17 and descended to freedom on the bedsheets. He was recaptured a week later in Anaheim.
A guard at the facility was fired amid accusations that he aided the breakout by smuggling hacksaw blades to the prisoners for $5,000.
The escape occurred just six months after the opening of the sleek, 10-story prison.
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