Escapee from Bloomfield Halfway House Pleads Guilty

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JONATHAN McEWEN, 34, formerly of Vernon, pleaded guilty today in New Haven federal court to escaping from the custody of the Attorney General.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on February 14, 2022, McEwen was sentenced in Hartford federal court to 42 months of imprisonment for unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. On August 1, 2023, McEwen was transferred from a federal prison in Berlin, New Hampshire, to the Drapelick Center, a Residential Reentry Center (halfway house) in Bloomfield, to complete his custodial sentence. On November 27, 2023, McEwen was authorized to leave the halfway house to attend a state court hearing in Manchester. He failed to return to the halfway house as required. On December 6, 2023, McEwen was arrested by the Connecticut State Police and the Hartford Police Department on state charges unrelated to his escape. He has been detained since his arrest and was transferred into federal custody on January 26, 2024.

At sentencing, McEwen faces a maximum term of imprisonment of five years.

This matter was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service, with the assistance of the Connecticut State Police and Hartford Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David J. Sheldon.