A man on Tuesday admitted escaping from a halfway house in St. Louis, Missouri in 2018 just days after being caught with a firearm.
Bradford Craig Dean, 56, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one felony count of escape and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Dean was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2006 after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. After his release from prison, Dean was confined at Dismas House in St. Louis.
On Oct. 27, 2018, Dean was stopped for speeding in Normandy, and officers spotted a handgun in the vehicle’s cup holder. It was loaded and had been stolen ten days earlier in St. Louis. Officers also found $1,650 in cash, two firearm magazines, two digital scales, and 16 bags containing marijuana, indicative of marijuana sales.
Two days later, Dean left Dismas house without permission and did not return. He remained a fugitive until he was located and arrested on Jan. 9, 2024.
Dean is scheduled to be sentenced on May 7. The escape charge is punishable by up to five years in prison. The felon in possession charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Both also carry potential fines of up to $250,000.
The U.S. Marshals Service and the Normandy Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul D’Agrosa is prosecuting the case.
